Trump's Indictments Actually Aren't That Exceptional

He's just one of 78 democratic leaders who have faced criminal charges since 2000.

VIEW IN BROWSER It's Actually Common to Indict Leaders of Democracies By Ashley Ahn and Brawley Benson When Donald Trump became the first former United States president to face federal criminal charges on June 9, it set the scene for a legal battle that could test the U.S. judicial and political systems. The charges—37 in total—are related to Trump's storage of highly classified documents at his Mar-a-Lago resort in Palm Beach, Florida. On Aug. 1, Trump was indicted on even more serious charges for his efforts to overturn the 2020 presidential election. He faces four charges including conspiracy to defraud the United States, violate civil rights, and obstruct an official proceeding. The American public will closely follow his cases to see what they reveal about America's ability to hold its most powerful citizens to account. Trump claimed the classified documents indictment is a "witch hunt" and a "hoax" by the Biden administration. He called the Jan. 6 indictment an attempt to interfere in the upcoming presidential election. READ MORE "They are also going after me as RETRIBUTION for the Republicans in Congress going after them," Trump wrote on his social media platform, Truth Social, days before the first federal indictment. "The difference is, they have created major crimes, I have created none!" Many Republicans are similarly questioning the motivation and timing of the indictment releases. Sen. Ted Cruz called it "political persecution," while former acting U.S. Attorney General Matt Whitaker called it the "stuff of a banana republic." But despite claims that prosecuting Trump means a slide into autocracy, the indictment and conviction of former leaders in democratic and semi-democratic countries around the world is, in fact, quite common. 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. SEE FP'S FULL ANALYSIS More From FP Women Will Be the Biggest Victims of Israel's Judicial Reforms The country's Supreme Court has played a pivotal role in securing gender equality. Neutering it will deal a blow to women's rights. By Carmiel Arbit, Yulia Shalomov Manipur Crisis Tests Modi's India Spiraling violence in the northeastern state takes cues from the ruling party's majoritarianism. By Sushant Singh Niger's New Coup Allies Mali and Burkina Faso warn foreign powers that any move to undermine Niger's coup would be a "declaration of war" against their own countries. By Alexandra Sharp Russia Is Returning to Its Totalitarian Past A forever war in Ukraine comes with almost limitless possibilities to stifle dissent. By Alexey Kovalev Women Will Be the Biggest Victims of Israel's Judicial Reforms The country's Supreme Court has played a pivotal role in securing gender equality. Neutering it will deal a blow to women's rights. By Carmiel Arbit, Yulia Shalomov Manipur Crisis Tests Modi's India Spiraling violence in the northeastern state takes cues from the ruling party's majoritarianism. By Sushant Singh Niger's New Coup Allies Mali and Burkina Faso warn foreign powers that any move to undermine Niger's coup would be a "declaration of war" against their own countries. By Alexandra Sharp Russia Is Returning to Its Totalitarian Past A forever war in Ukraine comes with almost limitless possibilities to stifle dissent. By Alexey Kovalev Expert voices. Intelligent analysis. Gain a deeper understanding of the world with FP's daily analysis of politics and international affairs. SUBSCRIBE NOW Want to receive FP newsletters? Manage your FP newsletter preferences. MANAGE YOUR EMAIL PREFERENCES  |  VIEW OUR PRIVACY POLICY  |  UNSUBSCRIBE  Reach the right online audience with us. Foreign Policy is a division of Graham Holdings Company. All contents © 2023 Graham Digital Holding Company LLC. All rights reserved. Foreign Policy, 655 15th St NW, Suite 300, Washington, DC, 20005.