Donald Trump is the first former president convicted of a crime in U.S. history, but it won’t stop him from running for president again. His conviction on Thursday does not bar him from seeking a return to the Oval Office in the meantime, even if his possible sentence makes that more difficult.
Twelve Manhattan jurors found Trump guilty on 34 counts of falsifying business records after prosecutors showed he covered up reimbursements to his former lawyer Michael Cohen. Cohen paid porn star Stormy Daniels $130,000 to stay quiet about an alleged sexual affair ahead of the 2016 election. Trump denies taking part in a tryst with Daniels.
He is expected to appeal the verdict.
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Can Trump run for President?
The U.S. Constitution only lists three necessary qualifications for being president: the candidate must be a “natural born” citizen, at least 35 years old and a resident of U.S. for at least 14 years. There is no requirement that the president not be a convicted felon.
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A few presidential candidates in history have campaigned after an indictment or conviction: Socialist candidate Eugene V. Debs ran for president for the fifth time in 1920 while in prison for sedition. Former Texas Gov. Rick Perry ran for president alongside Trump in the 2016 Republican primary after being indicted two years earlier for abuse of official capacity and coercion of a public official, but he dropped out of the race a few months into the primary.
What if Trump is in jail?
Judge Juan Merchan scheduled Trump’s sentencing for July 11, and he is out free until then.
Trump will also likely to remain at liberty until the election. As a first time felon and given it is a non-violent crime, his sentence could be as light as probation. Even if he does receive a jailtime sentence, he probably push it off until the appeal is resolved.
What happens to Trump now?
Experts say states are unlikely to succeed in passing additional eligibility requirements for a candidate to get on the presidential ballot.
The U.S. Supreme Court already rejected an effort from several states to bar Trump from the ballot based on the 14th Amendment, which prevents anyone who has engaged in insurrection after swearing to uphold the Constitution (by being sworn into office, for example), from holding office again.
Trump can probably vote for himself in Florida
The high court did not want a “state-by-state patchwork” of rules for Trump’s eligibility.
The variety of state laws on voting rights for convicted felons could impact Trump’s ability to cast a vote for himself, but not in this case. Florida, where Trump is registered to vote, gives felons the right to vote if the state where they were convicted allows it. New York only removes a felon’s right to vote while they are imprisoned, and as Trump may not receive jail time at all, let alone before the election, he will likely remain eligible.
