Former President Donald Trump is facing even more legal jeopardy as the race for the Republican presidential nomination heats up, following an indictment Thursday by a federal grand jury in the probe into his handling of classified documents at Mar-a-Lago, his Florida resort.
The historic indictment comes after Trump in April pleaded not guilty to 34 felony counts in a case involving hush-money payments. And the former president’s legal troubles may not end there, as Trump is facing still other probes.
What do these charges mean for Trump’s latest White House campaign? As he presses ahead with his bid for the GOP nomination, here are a few questions and answers about the impact of the cases on Trump’s political future.
Question: Can an indicted person run for president?
Answer: Yes. There’s nothing in the Constitution that prevents it. Article II, Section 1, of the Constitution doesn’t mention criminal records. The only requirements to run are being a natural-born citizen at least 35 years old and a resident in the U.S. for 14 years.
Tobin Marcus, of Evercore ISI, noted in an analysis on Friday that Trump can indeed run, but raised the prospect of a Supreme Court case should Trump be convicted and win the presidency.
“Some of the charges in this case carry disqualification from public office as a statutory penalty, but we don’t see how this would apply to the presidency. Practically, if Trump is convicted but nevertheless wins the election, we will be in totally uncharted waters and the Supreme Court will have to figure it out,” said Marcus, senior U.S. policy and politics strategist at Evercore.
“We reiterate, since many investors have asked us, that as a Constitutional matter, Trump can run for president if he is not only indicted but convicted and incarcerated,” Marcus said.
Read also: What to know about the documents case and what’s next
Q: Could Trump still vote for himself if convicted of a felony?
A: Likely not. Forty-eight states ban people with felony convictions from voting, according to the Sentencing Project, an advocacy group. Many states restore felon’s voting rights once they’re released from prison, however. Only Maine and Vermont allow felons to vote while still in prison.
Q: What other investigations is Trump facing?
A: Besides the criminal charges in New York stemming from the hush-money case and the classified documents case, Trump is facing another in Fulton County, Ga., and still another led by special prosecutor Jack Smith. The Georgia probe centers on efforts by Trump and his allies to overturn that state’s 2020 election result.
Smith is leading the Justice Department’s investigation into the handling of classified documents at Mar-a-Lago, as well as into the ex-president’s involvement in the Jan. 6 attack on the U.S. Capitol.
The latter case has been the subject of an effort to bar Trump from holding office. In late 2022, a group of 40 House Democrats introduced legislation invoking the 14th Amendment, which bars anyone from public office who, “having previously taken an oath” to support the Constitution, “engaged in insurrection or rebellion” or gave “aid or comfort” to enemies of the U.S. Then-Rep. David Cicilline said Trump “very clearly” engaged in an insurrection on Jan. 6, 2021. Trump has denied wrongdoing.
Q: What have Trump — and his GOP rivals — said about the charges?
A: In a video on Truth Social Thursday night, Trump called the new probe a “hoax” and said he’s an “innocent man.” And in a fundraising pitch, Trump showed no signs of slowing his campaign, saying: “I only grow that much more confident that we WILL win back the White House and SAVE our country in 2024!”
More reading: The Trump vs. Biden economy: A comparison in 11 charts
Florida Gov. Ron DeSantis, who’s running in second place to Trump in polls about the GOP presidential nomination, blasted the Justice Department after the news broke on Thursday. Other rivals for the nomination including Sen. Tim Scott and entrepreneur Vivek Ramaswamy similarly ripped federal prosecutors.
Read the full article here
