HOUSTON — Former President Donald Trump has said he will be arrested Tuesday.
The charges are believed to be connected to the alleged payout of hush money to an adult film actress. Trump has denied any wrongdoing, but Stormy Daniels has claimed she had an affair with the real estate mogul back in 2006.
Trump's former lawyer, Michael Cohen, has claimed in 2016 Trump ordered him to pay off Daniels to protect his presidential campaign. When Trump reimbursed Cohen, he allegedly said it was for legal fees, which could be a crime.
If the former president is charged, it would be unprecedented. No other former American president has ever been charged with a crime.
That doesn’t mean we haven’t been close.
After the Watergate scandal, Richard Nixon was bracing for an indictment. A pardon from his successor, President Gerald Ford, left him in the clear. President Bill Clinton lied under oath about his own indiscretions, but with just hours left in office, he reached a deal with independent counsel to avoid prosecution.
Even if Trump is indicted, it will not prevent him from running for president again. There is nothing in U.S. law that says a candidate found guilty of a crime can’t run and even serve as leader of the free world. According to experts, you could even serve as president from behind bars.