It is the first time in the history of the United States that a former president has been charged with criminal offenses, and this is very important to underline: it is expected that an American president will stand trial for the first time in history.

Many things have been done for the first time since Trump took office in 2016. Many “red lines” have been crossed. So many incredible events have shaken the world that we are likely to get carried away and not pay due attention to how important this moment is.

For years, politicians may have been embroiled in scandals blamed by their opponents, but they have always enjoyed unrecognized immunity. Nobody has ever been arrested. Now this stereotype is broken. Soon there will be a new “zek” in the archives of the country. Will it divide her further, or will it show that even the man who was once the most powerful man on the planet is not above the law?

If the trial, which is expected to take place, does take place, it is likely that it will not be the last for the ex-president. Trump could face another trial in Georgia, a federal indictment, and possibly even a fourth trial.

At this stage, the dispute is a bribe from the former president to a porn star in order to hide their love affair. This charge, of course, cannot put Donald Trump in jail. However, it may be useful for future judges who will not have the fear of being the first to reach a verdict, which may make them more reserved. And let’s not forget that Trump has made some serious mistakes in his career.

Trump’s allies called the current case a political one even before the charges were filed, without waiting to examine the actual evidence. Whatever charges District Attorney Alvin Bragg brought against him, they didn’t care. To protect their party president and potential successor, they proactively declared the prosecution illegal just because it was brought by a Democrat – D. A. Bragg is a Democrat.

Rep. Mark E. Green, a Republican and chairman of the House Homeland Security Committee, compared Trump’s prosecution to controversial political cases in less developed countries. “Daniel Ortega arrested his opposition in Nicaragua and we in America call it a terrible thing,” he said last week. “Mr. Biden, Mr. President, think about it.”

Imprisoning former leaders on false, politically motivated charges may be commonplace in the autocracies of the world, but some of the most advanced democracies do not shy away from prosecuting their leaders for crimes.

The dispute is a bribe from the former president to porn star Stormy Daniels to cover up their love affair.

In Israel, former Prime Minister Ehud Olmert spent over a year in prison on bribery, fraud and other charges, while current Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu faces similar charges and is expected to stand trial, which he appears to be generally tries to avoid. expenses.

In Italy, former Prime Minister Silvio Berlusconi, who has just regained some power in the ruling coalition, has faced 35 criminal cases in his long career, although he was only convicted once for tax fraud and paid a year of social work. Just last month, he was acquitted of witness bribery in an earlier child prostitution trial.

In the United States, Teapot Dome, Watergate, Iran-Contra, and Whitewater have never brought a president to trial. The only sitting president in history to have been in a police station as a defendant was Ulysses S. Grant, who was arrested for speeding through the streets of Washington in his carriage. He paid a $20 fine and left.

Although no president had been tried before, Vice President Aaron Burr was convicted of treason in the early 1800s on charges of attempting to appropriate the country’s lands. Nearly two centuries later, another vice president, Spiro Agniou, who is of Greek origin, resigned after construction company executives admitted he had taken a bribe.

Of course, an indictment – even a conviction – won’t stop Trump from running for the Republican presidential nomination. In 1920, Socialist leader Eugene Debs made his fifth bid for the White House from prison, where he was serving time for his opposition to World War I, and even received 919,799 votes, 3.4% of the electoral vote. Of course, unlike Trump, he was not a major party candidate and had no chance of winning.

While Trump’s impeachment is taking the country into uncharted waters, the framers of the US Constitution would probably be surprised it took so long to get to this point, since the Constitution provides that sitting presidents cannot be impeached, but can be impeached after leaving office. A President impeached by the House of Representatives and removed from office by the Senate “may, without distinction, be held guilty and subject to prosecution, trial, and punishment in accordance with the law,” states Article I, paragraph 3, of the Constitution.

Mina Bowes, professor at Hofstra University’s Peter Kalikoff School of Government and director of the U.S. presidential history program, said a country plagued by polarization and concerned about its democracy grows stronger by punishing its leaders. “To address these challenges, an active and ongoing commitment is needed to ensure that all officials respect the rule of law,” he said.

But others worry about the long-term implications for the presidency. This is due to the fact that the indictment was filed by the local prosecutor’s office and not by the Ministry of Justice. This could open the door for prosecutors across the country to try to prosecute the president in the future.