AA / Istanbul
Former US President Donald Trump on Monday denounced an “unannounced raid” on his Mar-a-Lago property in Florida, calling it “misconduct by prosecutors” and “manipulation of the judicial system.”
“Nothing like this has ever happened to a President of the United States before,” the former president said in a statement.
“What’s the difference between this and Watergate, where agents broke into the Democratic National Committee? Here, by contrast, the Democrats broke into the house of the 45th President of the United States,” he said. he added, thus drawing a parallel between the burglary at the offices of the Democratic National Committee in the Watergate complex in Washington DC in 1972, and the official search approved by law enforcement and judicial authorities made by the purpose of his residence.
Although this is the first time in history that the FBI has raided the home of a former US President, Donald Trump is not the first President of the United States (former or incumbent) to be the subject of an FBI investigation.
Some of his predecessors were investigated by the FBI, but all were in office at the time and were not private citizens.
– Richard Nixon
In delivering his resignation speech on August 8, 1974, the 37th President of the United States, Richard Nixon, stepped down to avoid being impeached following the Watergate scandal.
Watergate is often considered one of the greatest political scandals in United States history.
It erupted on June 17, 1972, when police surprised five men who had just broken into the offices of the Democratic National Committee in the Watergate complex in Washington D.C., an incident described by Ron Ziegler, Nixon’s press secretary, as “a third-order burglary attempt”.
The Washington Post reported in August that a check for $25,000 intended for Nixon’s 1972 campaign ended up in the bank account of one of the men arrested in the burglary.
Several months later, reports and investigations point to White House involvement in the burglary.
On October 10, 1972, Washington Post reporters revealed that FBI agents had discovered links between Nixon aides and the Watergate break-in. It was also revealed that a recording system had been installed in the Oval Office, allowing Nixon’s conversations with White House officials to be recorded.
The Watergate break-in trial began on January 8, 1973, and Nixon’s impeachment proceedings were initiated by the House Judiciary Committee on May 9, 1974.
Facing the risk of impeachment, Nixon delivers his resignation speech, becoming the only president of the United States to have resigned from office.
– Ronald Reagan
The administration of Ronald Reagan, 40th president of the United States, in office between 1981 and 1989, had to face an investigation into the Iran-Contra scandal, involving secret sales of American arms to Iran in exchange for the release of Americans held hostage in Lebanon by Hezbollah.
The Reagan administration allegedly used the money from these sales to help rebels trying to overthrow the government of Nicaragua, which Reagan denied knowledge of.
Arms sales to Iran came under criticism at a time when Iran was under an arms embargo and was seen by the US government as a pariah, largely because of the attack launched in 1979 once morest the United States Embassy in Tehran and the ensuing hostage taking of 52 Americans.
Several White House officials, including National Security Council member Colonel Oliver North, were convicted as a result of this investigation, but no evidence of Reagan’s involvement has been established.
– Bill Clinton
Bill Clinton, 42nd President of the United States, and his wife (future Secretary of State and presidential candidate) Hillary Clinton, were investigated in relation to the Whitewater scandal, which involved their real estate investments in Arkansas, a southern state in the United States, before either one rose to the Oval Office in 1993.
Whitewater Development Corporation was an unsuccessful business venture of the Clintons and two business partners, Jim and Susan McDougal.
The Clintons were accused of pressuring an Arkansas banker to provide McDougal with an illegal loan, and of providing “fraudulent funds” for Bill Clinton’s gubernatorial campaign.
Several investigations have been launched by US agencies, Congress and a special prosecutor regarding these allegations. The Clintons, however, were exonerated in this case.
Bill Clinton also faced a sexual harassment case involving White House intern Monica Lewinsky, a complaint filed by former Arkansas employee Paula Jones in 1994. Bill Clinton denied the allegations but was impeached by the United States House of Representatives for lying under oath.
In February 1999, the Senate acquitted Clinton of both charges once morest him, and he was able to complete his second term.
– George W. Bush
George W. Bush, 43rd President of the United States, served in office from 2001 to 2009. Some members of his administration were the subject of allegations regarding the leaking of the identity of CIA agent Valerie Plame to journalist Robert Nova.
Plame and her husband have accused Bush of twisting facts to justify the war in Iraq, a claim that has proven to be true over the years.
Several Bush administration officials were the subject of an investigation that lasted 22 months.
Lewis “Scooter” Libby, former chief of staff to Vice President Dick Cheney, was convicted of lying to federal agents. No evidence of Bush’s involvement in the Plame affair has been established.
*Translated from English by Mourad Belhaj
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