Analysis: Understand if Trump can still run for president if he is indicted

Can he still run for president? Why would the adult film star’s case go forward before any of the cases about protecting democracy? How could you find an impartial jury?

Below are answers to some of the questions we received regarding the possible indictment of former President Donald Trump.

He is involved in four different criminal investigations by three different levels of government – ​​the Manhattan District Attorney; the district attorney for Fulton County, Georgia; and the US Department of Justice.

These questions mostly pertain to the possible indictment of Trump by Manhattan District Attorney Alvin Bragg over a bribe payment scheme, but many can apply to each investigation.

The most asked question is also the easiest to answer.

Can Trump still run for president if he is indicted or convicted?

Yes, absolutely.

“Nothing prevents Trump from running while he is indicted, or even convicted,” University of California, Los Angeles law professor Richard Hasen said in an email.

The Constitution requires only three things from candidates. They must be:

• Born citizen.
• At least 35 years.
• A US resident for at least 14 years.

From a political point of view, it may be more difficult for an indicted candidate, who may become a convicted felon, to win votes. Trials do not allow candidates to do their best. But it is not prohibited for them to run or be elected.

Other restrictions do not apply to Trump

There are a few asterisks in both the Constitution and the 14th and 22nd Amendments, none of which currently apply to Trump in cases deemed closer to a formal charge.

Term Limits: The 22nd Amendment prohibits a person who has been president twice (meaning he was elected twice or served part of someone else’s term and then won his own) from running again. This does not apply to Trump as he lost the 2020 election.

Impeachment: If a person is impeached by the House and convicted by the Senate of felonies and misdemeanors, he will be removed from office and unfit to serve again. Trump, although twice impeached by the House during his presidency, was also twice acquitted by the Senate.

Disqualification: The 14th Amendment includes a “disqualification clause” written specifically targeting former Confederate soldiers.

It reads:

No person may be a senator or representative in Congress, or an elector for the President and Vice President, or hold any office, civil or military, in the United States or in any state which, having previously taken an oath, as a member of Congress, or as an official of the United States, or as a member of any state legislature, or as an executive or judicial officer of any state, to uphold the Constitution of the United States, must have engaged in insurrection or rebellion against the same, or given aid or comfort to its enemies .

The possible charges in New York City regarding paying a bribe to an adult film star have nothing to do with rebellion or insurrection. Nor the possible federal charges regarding classified documents.

Possible charges in Fulton County, Georgia regarding meddling in the 2020 election or at the federal level regarding the January 6, 2021 insurrection could perhaps be interpreted by some as a form of insurrection. But that’s an open question that would have to work its way through the courts. And the 2024 election is fast approaching.

Could Trump vote if convicted?

If he were convicted of a crime — mind you, he hasn’t been charged yet — in New York, Trump would be barred from voting in his adopted home state of Florida, at least until he serves a potential sentence.

Why this case and not the more consequent ones?

First, there is no suggestion of any coordination between Manhattan, the Department of Justice and Fulton County.

These are all separate investigations into separate issues, moving at their own pace.

The payment to adult film actress Stormy Daniels occurred years ago, in 2016. Trump argued that the statute of limitations had expired. Lawyers might argue that the clock stopped when Trump left New York to become president in 2017.

It is also unclear how exactly a state felony (falsification of business records) can be combined with a federal election felony to create a state felony. There are some really cool deep dives into this, like this one from Just Security. We’ll have to see what, if anything, Bragg adds if he files an indictment.

Of the four known criminal investigations into Trump, falsifying business records in connection with paying a bribe to an adult film actress seems the least of the problems, especially since federal prosecutors decided not to charge him when he left office.

His finances, the subject of a long investigation, seem like a big deal. But the Manhattan prosecutor decided not to charge Trump criminally with regard to tax crimes. Trump was sued by the New York attorney general in civil court based on some of this evidence.

Investigations in Georgia regarding voter interference and by the Department of Justice regarding January 6 and its handling of classified information also appear more important.

But these cases are being handled by different entities at different paces in different governments – New York City; Fulton County, Georgia; and the federal government.

“I think the allegations are much more serious against Trump related to the election,” Hasen said in his email. “But falsifying business records can also be a crime. (I’m more skeptical about combining that in state court with a federal campaign finance violation.)”

Would Trump have fingerprints collected? Taking pictures for police records?

A federal law enforcement source told john miller from the CNN over the weekend that Trump’s secret service is actively engaged with New York City officials about how that arrest process would work if Trump is indicted.

It’s usually a routine process of fingerprints, a photo and an indictment. It probably wouldn’t be a public event and clearly his protection detail would be moving around the building with Trump.

New York does not release most photos after a 2019 law aimed at curbing online extortion.

Where do you find an impartial jury for Trump?

As Trump is among the most divisive and now well-known Americans in history, it’s hard to believe there’s an impartial grand jury out there.

The Sixth Amendment guarantees “the right to a speedy and public trial by an impartial jury of the state and district where the crime was committed.”

Finding such a jury “will not be easy, given the intense passions on both sides it generates,” Hasen said.

A Quinnipiac University poll taken in March asked registered voters’ opinions of Trump. Only 2% said they hadn’t heard enough about it to say.

The New York State Unified Court System Trial Jury Handbook explains the “voir dire” process by which jurors are selected. Those accepted by the prosecution and defense as being free from “personal bias or knowledge that might impair their ability to adjudicate a case impartially” must take an oath to act fairly and impartially.

Could Trump be arrested?

We’re getting ahead of ourselves. He was not indicted, much less tried or convicted. Any charges, even for a Class E crime in New York, would be for the type of non-violent crime that would not lead to the arrest of any defendant.

“I don’t expect Trump to be arrested if he is indicted on any of these charges,” Hasen said. “The prison sentence would only come if he was convicted and sentenced to prison.”

The idea that Trump would ever see the inside of a prison cell still seems completely far-fetched. Hasen said the Secret Service would have to provide protection for him in prison. The logistics of that are mind-boggling. Would the agents be placed in cells on either side of him? Would they dress like inmates or guards?

High-ranking officials accused of wrongdoing have historically found a way out of prison. Former President Richard Nixon obtained a preemptive pardon from his successor, Gerald Ford.

Nixon’s previous vice president, Spiro Agnew, resigned after getting caught up in a corruption scandal. Agnew took a plea deal and avoided prison. Aaron Burr, also a former vice president, narrowly escaped a treason conviction. But then he left the country.

How would the Secret Service act if Trump was arrested?

Jonathan Wackrow, a former Secret Service agent and current global head of security at Teneo, said at the CNN on Monday (20) that agents are taking a back seat – to the New York Police Department and New York State Court officials charged with maintaining order and security, and to the FBI, which looks for possible acts of violence by extremists.

The Secret Service, far from coordinating the event as it normally would, is “in protection mode,” Wackrow said.

“They are really seeing this as an administrative move where they need to protect Donald Trump from point A to point B, let him do his business before the court and walk away. They are not playing that active role that we normally see them in.”

Will there be a “walk in front of the cameras”?

The New York Times ran a story based on anonymous sources close to Trump on Tuesday suggesting that he is, out of bravado or genuine glee, relishing the idea of ​​having to endure a “criminal walk” in New York City. A “perp walk”, by the way, is a perpetrator’s public march to a police station for processing.

“He has repeatedly tried to show that he is not feeling ashamed or hiding in any way, and I think you will see that,” said the Times reporter and political analyst at CNN , maggie haberman on Tuesday night (21).

Could such a display really help you?

“I think there’s a part of him that sees this as a political asset,” said Marc Short, former chief of staff to former Vice President Mike Pence, during an appearance on CNN on Wednesday. “Because he can use it to paint the other more serious legal risk he faces in Georgia or the Justice Department, as they are politically motivated.”

But Short argued that voters will tire of the baggage Trump is carrying, especially if he faces additional potential charges in federal and Georgia investigations.