Only One President Has Ever Been Arrested

Has a US President ever been arrested, either while in office or during their retirement?

The answer: yes.

One US President - Ulysses S. Grant - was arrested while serving as the President of the country.

Grant - the 18th President of the United States - loved to race his horse and buggy through Georgetown while serving his country.

Grant was stopped often for speeding (there were speed limits, even with a horse and buggy). In fact, after stopping Grant three times for speeding, the D.C. Metropolitan Police decided that their message wasn't getting through and decided to arrest the President.

The problem? The police weren't sure that they could charge a sitting President, so they elected to fine Grant instead and let him walk back to the White House.

Those were certainly different times.

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Richard Nixon, who was impeached and subsequently resigned before facing his Senate trial, was pardoned by Gerald Ford and never went to jail for his role in "Watergate".

Andrew Johnson, who was the first President to be impeached, was never jailed.

Bill Clinton, who was also impeached, was acquitted by the Senate.

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A President can be removed from office via impeachment for "high crimes and misdemeanors", though there is nothing in the Constitution that specifically addresses whether a sitting US President can face criminal prosecution in court.

Some take this to mean that a US President is immune from criminal prosecution, though this has never been decided by the Supreme Court.


Filed under: General Knowledge