Until Thursday — when jurors in New York found former President Donald Trump guilty on 34 felony counts in a hush-money campaign finance trial — no U.S. president had ever been convicted of even one felony.
But history shows Trump is not entirely unique; prosecutors have long gone after politicians over campaign finance violations, and on both sides of the aisle.
In addition to multiple members of Congress from around the country who have been convicted for campaign finance violations, North Carolina specifically has a bipartisan history of politicians being accused of — and sometimes convicted for — violating campaign finance laws.
Some of them could also shed light on how Trump might be sentenced on July 11. However, direct comparisons are hard to make — in part because none of the following North Carolina cases feature as many counts as the jury convicted Trump of on Thursday.
U.S. Sen. John Edwards
The John Edwards scandal is perhaps the most closely aligned with the details of the Trump case. Edwards served as a U.S. Senator for North Carolina from 1998 until 2004, when he became the Democratic Party’s pick for vice president on John Kerry’s presidential campaign.
Edwards ran for president in 2008, and at times was leading in the polls, until his sex scandal brought him down. Like Trump, Edwards was married but had an affair — which he then sought to cover up to protect his political ambitions.
Edwards was accused of funneling donors’ money to his pregnant mistress to buy her silence.
He was prosecuted on six felonies in 2011 — by the U.S. Department of Justice led by a fellow Democrat, President Barack Obama — but he beat the charges. The jury found him not guilty on one charge, and reached a mistrial on the rest.
Gov. Mike Easley
Former Democratic Gov. Mike Easley was, like Trump, convicted of hiding politically motivated spending that should’ve been reported. While Trump’s was the payment to his paramour, Easley’s was a helicopter ride gifted by a supporter.
- Easley also faced other ethical questions, but the criminal case focused just on that one charge.
- He took an Alford plea, a type of plea that’s similar to a guilty plea but allows the defendant to continue claiming to be innocent despite also pleading.
- Easley became a convicted felon and lost his right to vote, but he wasn’t sentenced to prison, instead paying a small $1,000 fine.
- His son Michael Easley Jr. is now Biden’s top federal prosecutor for eastern North Carolina.
- The former governor’s case — potentially like Trump’s, pending his sentencing — illustrates that the lackeys often face harsher punishments than the boss. Trump’s former fixer, Michael Cohen, already spent more than two years in federal prison for his role in the same hush money payments case. Easley’s fixer, Ruffin Poole, spent nearly a year in prison for some of his actions uncovered during the investigation.
State Rep. David Lewis
One of the state’s most powerful Republican legislators until just a few years ago, state Rep. David Lewis represented Harnett County in the General Assembly for nearly 20 years.
- Lewis pleaded guilty in 2020 to making a false statement to a bank, after being caught using fake entities to steal money from his political campaign for his own personal use.
- Lewis paid the money back, and received a light sentence: Probation instead of prison, and a small $1,000 fine.
- He’s now a lobbyist, working back at the state legislature.
State Sen. Fletcher Hartsell
A Republican from Concord, state Sen. Fletcher Hartsell was sentenced to eight months in federal prison for a variety of campaign finance misdeeds. Like Lewis he was a longtime, respected lawmaker before his downfall.
- In 2017 Hartsell was convicted of state and federal campaign finance violations, for misusing more than $200,000 his supporters had donated to his campaign over the years.
- He paid for speeding fines, personal vacations, his granddaughter’s birthday party and tickets to the musical “Jersey Boys,” among other wrongful spending.
Ongoing Trump cases
Trump could still be convicted of dozens more felonies depending on the results of his three remaining trials — over classified document handling and his attempt to remain in power despite losing the 2020 election.
As the campaign finance trial progressed in recent days, Trump’s campaign has regularly blasted emails to supporters making accusations of political targeting, in an attempt to raise more money for his ongoing 2024 presidential campaign against Biden. Trump repeated the claims Thursday outside the courtroom, just minutes after the verdict came down.
“This was a rigged, disgraceful trial,” Trump said.
