Historical Arrest of a U.S. President

By Charles T. DeTulleo, Esquire Law Office

Charles T. DeTulleo

Why is this topic so important?

1

According to media reports, it is the first time in the history of the United States of America (USA), that a President of the USA has been indicted by a grand jury and subsequently arrested. In this case, former President Donald John Trump, the 45th President of the United States, was indicted on Thursday, March 30, 2023, by a Manhattan, NY, Grand Jury. He was arrested Tuesday, April 4, 2023, on a 34 count indictment of:

“NY CLS Penal § 175.10

§ 175.10. Falsifying business records in the first degree

A person is guilty of falsifying business records in the first degree when he commits the crime of falsifying business records in the second degree, and when his intent to defraud includes an intent to commit another crime or to aid or conceal the commission thereof.

Falsifying business records in the first degree is a class E felony.” (Cited from Lexis Nexus on-line database)2 Since many of our readers may follow this case, it seems important to look at the charges and the laws that may apply. The first obvious look is at the above law that is used in the indictment. The law has never been used to accuse a sitting or former President of the USA. It also is classified as a “class E felony.

“NY CLS Penal § 55.10

§ 55.10. Designation of offenses

1. Felonies.

(a) The particular classification or subclassification of each felony defined in this chapter is expressly designated in the section or article defining it.

(b) Any offense defined outside this chapter which is declared by law to be a felony without specification of the classification thereof, or for which a law outside this chapter provides a sentence to a term of imprisonment in excess of one year, shall be deemed a class E felony." (Cited from Lexis Nexus on-line database and only includes above subsection) And finally to the actual indictment. Unfortunately the full document is 16 pages long and exceeds the space allowed for our publication. However, I am including pages 1-2 and the last page of the document below for your review. (See https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/File:Donald-J.-TrumpIndictment.pdf for the full 16 pages of the indictment.)3

1Initially, this article is being written on Sunday, April 9, 2023. You will not see it until May 2023.

2Article 175 Offenses Involving False Written Statements (§§ 175.00 - 175.55).

3Article 55 Classification and Designation of Offenses (§§ 55.00 - 55.10).