Presidents and former presidents rarely find themselves in danger of being in trouble with the law, but former President Donald Trump appears to be on the verge of being indicted by a grand jury in Manhattan.
Only one president has been arrested in U.S. history, while only a few others have come close to being indicted of a crime. Here is a look at four former commanders in chief who have either come close to being indicted or, in one case, been arrested.
DONALD TRUMP INDICTMENT: WHAT TO WATCH IF FORMER PRESIDENT IS ARRESTED
Richard Nixon
Former President Richard Nixon is the commander in chief who was the closest to being removed from office due to his involvement in the Watergate scandal.
Nixon faced impeachment inquiries from the House of Representatives for his alleged role in covering up a break-in at the Democratic National Committee's headquarters in the Watergate complex in Washington, D.C., in June 1972. Audio tapes of Nixon discussing the initial stages of the cover-up of an investigation into the break-in were released in August 1974 after the Supreme Court unanimously ruled he must turn over the tapes to follow a congressional subpoena, which put him at severe risk of criminal liability and removal from office.
On Aug. 8, 1974, shortly after the "smoking gun" tapes were released, Nixon announced he would resign from office — putting an end to his probable impeachment. Nearly a month after Nixon left office, then-President Gerald Ford announced he would pardon Nixon as a way for the country to move past the Watergate scandal. By virtue of Ford's pardon, Nixon was able to avoid criminal charges.
Bill Clinton
Former President Bill Clinton got entangled in legal issues while serving as commander in chief for lying in his deposition about his relationship with White House intern Monica Lewinsky.
Clinton had sexual relations with Lewinsky while she was working at the White House but told the public that he "did not have sexual relations with that woman, Ms. Lewinsky." He later admitted to the affair and was impeached by the House of Representatives. Clinton would ultimately be acquitted in the Senate trial.
The 42nd president still faced the prospect of a felony charge after leaving office for lying under oath, but he was able to work out a deal with Prosecutor Robert Ray in January 2001, hours before leaving office, to avoid criminal charges.
"I tried to walk a fine line between acting lawfully and testifying falsely, but I now recognize that I did not fully accomplish this goal and that certain of my responses to questions about Ms. Lewinsky were false," Clinton said in a statement at the time of the deal. "I hope my actions today will bring closure and finality to these matters."
Ulysses S. Grant
Former President Ulysses S. Grant is the only president to be arrested while serving as the commander in chief. Grant was arrested by officer William West in 1872 for a misdemeanor.
He was arrested for speeding in his carriage near the corner of 13th and M streets NW in Washington, D.C., per the Washington Post. Grant allegedly told the police officer he did not know how fast he was going, but the officer told him he had to arrest him.
"I am very sorry. Mr. President, to have to do it, for you are the chief of the nation and I am nothing but a policeman, but duty is duty, sir, and I will have to place you under arrest," West allegedly told Grant.
The report says Grant paid $20 collateral and was asked to appear at court the next day, but he reportedly did not appear.
The arrest was originally published in a story in 1908 and was later confirmed by then-D.C. Police Chief Cathy Lanier in 2012. The report acknowledges that the 1908 story comes from a time when journalistic standards for quotations were not as stringent.
Donald Trump
Trump is facing various investigations, ranging from his alleged involvement in the Jan. 6, 2021, Capitol riot to his alleged mishandling of classified documents, but the investigation that appears to be closest to an indictment involves a 2016 hush money payment.
Prosecutors in Manhattan have been investigating to see if the former president falsified business records by listing a $130,000 reimbursement of his then-lawyer Michael Cohen for paying off porn star Stormy Daniels to stay silent as a legal expense in 2016 when he was running for president.
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Falsifying business records in that way is a misdemeanor in the state of New York, but it can be upgraded to a felony charge if the district attorney's office can successfully argue the falsification was done with the intent of concealing a second crime.
A timeline for an indictment is unknown, as reports had initially suggested the grand jury would vote on an indictment last week but ultimately never did.