Donald Trump maybe making history in America….
But he joins a list of leaders being charged with crimes around the world…..
A Foreign Policy analysis found that at least 78 leaders in 53 democratic or semi-democratic countries—the vast majority of which have successfully held democratic elections following the indictments—have been indicted since 2000. Countries and territories with a “partly free” or “free” score on Freedom House’s global freedom ranking, a total of 143, were included in this analysis.
….
Some of the richest and most influential nations in the world have not only indicted but convicted former leaders on serious charges. In the past five years alone, South Korea has convicted two of its former presidents on corruption charges: Lee Myung-bak, who served as president from 2008 to 2013, and his successor, Park Geun-hye, who was impeached in 2017. Both have since been pardoned by sitting presidents while serving their approximately two-decade-long sentences.
South Korea suffers from a history of collusion and corruption between politicians and giant firms, known as chaebol. This old way of doing business helped put two other Korean leaders behind bars just before the turn of the century, bringing the tally of Korean leaders convicted to four in the past 30 years.
Former French President Nicolas Sarkozy was similarly found guilty of bribery in 2021 and sentenced to three years in jail. Two of those years were suspended, and the remaining year will be served under house arrest as upheld by a Parisian court this May. And just last year, former President of Bolivia Jeanine Añez—who stepped forward as a proposed interim president in 2019 following the resignation of her predecessor, Evo Morales—was sentenced to 10 years in prison. She was accused of illegally taking over the presidency….
…
48 leaders were convicted in 32 countries…
…
There is no blueprint for how the Trump cases will play out. In some settings, the trial of a former president has been a major test for democracy, while in others it’s demonstrated the independence of judicial institutions. One thing is certain: Whatever happens in the United States will likely do more to cement opinions of the country’s institutions rather than of the former president himself….
Thanks to PDog’s DSD for this get…..
Note….
A few years ago I thought America would NOT want to see a former President arrested….
I was wrong….
We’ll see about convicted and even possible jail time….