On May 30, former President Donald Trump was convicted of 34 felony counts of falsifying business records to conceal hush money payments made during the 2016 election, making him the first U.S. president to be convicted of a crime. In this episode, two leading historians of the presidency—Stephen Knott of the United States Naval War College, and bestselling and author and attorney David O. Stewart—join Jeffrey Rosen to explore presidential attacks on the judicial system and rule of law throughout American history. They also discuss what this history can teach us in the wake of the Trump criminal verdict.

Resources:

“The Trump Manhattan Criminal Verdict, Count By Count,” The New York Times (May 30, 2024)
The Indictment of Former President Trump, NCC’s We the People podcast (April 6, 2023)
History of Impeachment from Andrew Johnson to Today, NCC’s We the People podcast (February 1, 2018)
David O. Stewart, Impeached: The Trial of President Andrew Johnson and the Fight for Lincoln's Legacy (2009)
David O. Stewart, American Emperor: Aaron Burr’s Challenge to Jefferson’s America (2011)
Stephen Knott, The Lost Soul of the American Presidency: The Decline into Demagoguery and the Prospects for Renewal (2019)
Myers v. United States (1926)
United States v. Cruikshank (1875)

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