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Donald Trump was found guilty of falsifying corporate records before the 2016 election.
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Trump joins a handful of world leaders with criminal convictions.
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Leaders from Croatia, Israel and France are among those facing criminal charges.
Former President Donald Trump’s criminal conviction will do little to slow his bid for the White House.
On Thursday, the 77-year-old was found guilty of falsifying business records in the run-up to the 2016 general election, marking the first time a US president has ever been criminally convicted.
The guilty verdict will not prevent Trump from running for president in the 2024 election, as the U.S. Constitution does not prohibit felons from appearing on the ballot.
The Trump campaign appeared to take advantage of the publicity and use it to solicit donations. On Thursday, Trump’s donor website crashed after “so many Americans were prompted to donate to President Trump’s campaign,” a spokesperson wrote on X.
Although Trump is the first US president to be criminally charged, this is not that unusual when we look at leaders from around the world.
Trump joins a handful of former presidents and prime ministers from around the world who have been convicted, with some even receiving prison sentences.
Former Prime Minister of Croatia Ivo Sanader is in prison on corruption charges.
Ivo Sanader was Prime Minister of Croatia from 2003 to 2009. He has been in and out of prison since 2011 for numerous convictions related to corruption and war profiteering, which he has denied, according to state and global media.
He was last convicted of corruption in 2020 after allegedly using state money for personal gain and to support his former party, the Croatian Democratic Union, Euronieuws reports this.
He was given an eight-year prison sentence after a previous conviction was overturned on March 23.procedural grounds”, reports Euronieuws.
In the meantime it was party time was fined 3.5 million kuna, or about $587,724, and ordered to restitution an estimated 14 million kuna, or about $1.9 million, the release said.
Former Georgian president Mikheil Saakashvili is serving a six-year prison sentence.
Mikheil Saakashvili served two terms as president of Georgia from 2004 to 2013.
Saakashvili was convicted in 2021 on charges related to abuse of power, after seven years of self-imposed exile. According to multiple sources, including Politico and BBC News, he was sentenced to six years in prison.
He was accused of ordering riot police to physically beat Valery Gelashvili, a member of the opposition, in 2005. He also pardoned Interior Ministry employees convicted of the 2006 murder of Sandro Girgvliani, a bank employee.
Saakashvili denied the allegations and said they were politically motivated, according to BBC News.
In February 2023, including world leaders Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy was asked to call for this Saakashvili’s release after appearing unwell in a video of a court hearing, BBC News reported.
Saakashvili’s medical team said he had lost weight since his time in prison, from 254 pounds to 150 pounds, the newspaper reported. Rati Bregadze, the country’s justice minister, said this Saakashvili however, was self-harming and did not eat Saakashvili claimed he was poisoned, BBC News reported.
Former Israeli President Moshe Katsav spent seven years in prison on sexual assault charges.
Moshe Katsav was president of Israel from 2000 to 2007.
In 2011, he was found guilty of twice raping a former staff member during his time as tourism minister in 1998. BBC news reported.
He was also accused of sexually harassing two women in 2003 and 2005, the newspaper said.
Katsav denied the allegations against him.
After being sentenced to seven years in prison in 2011, he was released in 2016.
Another former Israeli leader, Ehud Olmert, served 16 months in prison for fraud.
Ehud Olmert was Prime Minister of Israel from 2006 to 2009.
In 2017, he was released from prison after serving 16 months of a 27-month sentence on a series of fraud charges, including bribery and obstruction of justice, BBC news And The times of Israel reported.
According to the parole board, Olmert’s early release came after a “significant rehabilitation process” led to “impeccable” behavior during his time in prison, BBC News reported.
A fake jobs scandal resulted in a criminal conviction of France’s former Prime Minister Francois Fillon.
François Fillon was Prime Minister of France from 2007 to 2012.
In 2017, Fillon was accused of paying off his wife Penelope Fillonfor fifteen years with public funds under the pretext of being an employee, according to a report by Le Canard Enchaîné, quoted by Le Monde.
Fillon was convicted on corruption charges in 2020 and originally received a five-year prison sentence. He lost an appeal against the charges in 2022 and was given a four-year prison sentence, with only one year of jail time reduced, Euro News reported.
According to the newspaper, he was banned from holding public office for ten years.
He was also fined 375,000 euros, or about $407,000, according to Le Monde and Euro News. Penelope, meanwhile, was ordered to pay the same fine and received a two-year suspended sentence for embezzlement, media said.
They were also ordered to repay the 800,000 euros, or about $870,120, to the Assemblée Nationale, part of the French parliament that originally paid Penelope.
Similarly, Jacques Chirac, former President of France, was also accused of creating fake jobs.
Jacques Chirac was President of France from 1995 to 2007.
In 2011 he was convicted of embezzlement and breach of trust and was given a two-year suspended prison sentence, BBC News reported.
Chirac was accused of paying off members of his political party. Rally for the Republic, for jobs that did not exist, the publication said. He denied the allegations against him.
Chirac died in 2019.
Nicholas Sarkozythe former president of France, has faced multiple criminal charges over the years.
Nicolas Sarkozy was president of France from 2007 to 2012.
In 2021, he was sentenced to three years in prison on corruption charges. Two years were suspended, while one year was ordered followed by house arrest Sarkozy lost an appeal against the conviction in May 2023, Politics reported.
He was also banned from holding public office for a period of three years, the newspaper said.
More recently, in February, Sarkozy was sentenced to a six-month suspended prison sentence for allegedly overspending in his 2012 re-election campaign and illegally charging his party for it. Les Républicains, according to a separate Politico report.
Sarkozy has denied any wrongdoing, the newspaper said.
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