Trump's new brotherhood: The former president joins leaders from around the world who have criminal convictions

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Donald Trump was found guilty of falsifying business records before the 2016 election.
Trump joins a handful of world leaders with criminal convictions.
Leaders from Croatia, Israel, and France are among those to face criminal charges.

By Mikhaila Friel

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 lead up to the 2016 general election, marking the first time a US president has ever been criminally convicted.

The guilty verdict won't stop Trump from running for president in the 2024 election, as the US Constitution doesn't prohibit felons from appearing on the ballot.

The Trump campaign appeared to capitalize on the publicity, using it to appeal for donations. On Thursday, the Trump donor website crashed after "so many Americans were moved to donate to President Trump's campaign," a spokesperson wrote on X.

Though Trump is the first US president to be criminally charged, it isn't that unusual when looking at leaders from around the world.

Trump joins a handful of former presidents and prime ministers from across the world who have been convicted, while some have even faced prison sentences.

Former Croatian Prime Minister Ivo Sanader is in prison on corruption charges.

Ivo Sanader served as Croatia's prime minister from 2003 until 2009. He has been in and out of prison since 2011 for numerous convictions relating to corruption and war profiteering, which he has denied, according to state and global media.

He was most recently convicted of corruption in 2020 after allegedly using state money for personal gain and to aid his former party, the Croatian Democratic Union, Euro News reported.

He was given an eight-year prison sentence after a previous conviction was overturned on "procedural grounds," Euro News reported.

Meanwhile, the party was fined 3.5 million kuna, or around $587,724, and ordered to return an estimated 14 million kuna, or around $1.9 million, the publication said.

Former Georgian President Mikheil Saakashvili is serving a six-year prison sentence.

Mikheil Saakashvili was president of Georgia for two terms, from 2004 until 2013.

Saakashvili was convicted for charges relating to the abuse of power in 2021 following seven years in self-imposed exile. He was sentenced to six years in prison, according to multiple outlets including Politico and BBC News.

He was accused of ordering riot police to physically beat Valery Gelashvili, a member of the opposition, in 2005. He also pardoned interior ministry staff who had been convicted for the murder of Sandro Girgvliani, a bank employee, in 2006.

Saakashvili denied the allegations, saying they were politically motivated, according to BBC News.

In February 2023, world leaders including Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy were prompted to call for Saakashvili's release after he appeared 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, going from 254 pounds to 150 pounds, the outlet said. Rati Bregadze, the country's justice minister, said Saakashvili was self-harming and not eating, though Saakashvili alleged that he had been poisoned, BBC News reported.

Former Israeli president Moshe Katsav spent seven years in prison on sexual assault charges.

Moshe Katsav was Israel's president from 2000 until 2007.

In 2011, he was found guilty of raping a former staff member on two occasions 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 outlet 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, spent 16 months in prison for fraud charges.

Ehud Olmert was prime minister of Israel from 2006 until 2009.

In 2017, he was released from prison after serving 16 months of a 27-month sentence relating to a series of fraud charges, including bribery and obstruction of justice, BBC News and The Times of Israel reported.

The parole board said Olmert's early release came after a "significant rehabilitation process" led to "impeccable" behaviour during his time in prison, BBC News reported.

A fake job scandal resulted in a criminal conviction for France's former Prime Minister Francois Fillon.

Francois Fillon was prime minister of France from 2007 until 2012.

In 2017, Fillon was accused of paying his wife, Penelope Fillon, with public funds for 15 years under the pretence that she was an employee, according to a Le Canard Enchaîné report cited by Le Monde.

Fillon was convicted for corruption charges in 2020 and was originally given a five-year prison sentence. He lost an appeal against the charges in 2022, and was given a reduced four-year prison sentence with just one year in prison, Euro News reported.

He was banned from qualifying for public office for 10 years, the outlet said.

He was also fined 375,000 euros, or around $407,000, according to Le Monde and Euro News. Penelope, meanwhile, was ordered to pay the same fine and was given a two-year suspended sentence for embezzlement, the outlets said.

They were also ordered to repay the 800,000 euros, or around $870,120, to the Assemblée Nationale, part of the French Parliament which 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 until 2007.

In 2011, he was convicted on embezzlement and breach of trust charges and given a two-year suspended prison sentence, BBC News reported.

Chirac was accused of paying members of his political party, Rally for the Republic, for jobs that didn't exist, the publication said. He denied the allegations against him.

Chirac died in 2019.

Nicolas Sarkozy, France's former president, has faced multiple criminal charges through the years.

Nicolas Sarkozy was president of France from 2007 until 2012.

In 2021, he was sentenced to three years in prison for corruption charges. Two years were suspended while one year was instructed to be served on house arrest after Sarkozy lost an appeal against the conviction in May 2023, Politico reported.

He was also barred from qualifying for public office for a duration of three years, the outlet said.

More recently, in February, Sarkozy was sentenced to a six-month suspended prison sentence for allegedly overspending in his 2012 reelection campaign and illegally charging it to his party, Les Républicains, according to a separate Politico report.

Sarkozy has denied any wrongdoing, the outlet said.

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