Do criminal charges disqualify Trump from being elected president? The short answer is that even if Trump is convicted, the charges against him won’t disqualify him from the presidency, legal experts tell TIME.
“And given that the U.S. Constitution sets presidential qualifications, it is not clear that states could add to them, such as by barring felons from running for office.”
In a statement released Thursday evening, Trump denied wrongdoing and characterized the probe by Manhattan District Attorney Alvin Bragg as part of a “witch hunt” against him. Earlier this month, Trump told reporters at the annual Conservative Political Action Conference that he would “absolutely” stay in the race for president even if he were to be criminally indicted. “I wouldn’t even think about leaving,” he said. “Probably, it’ll enhance my numbers.
“It’s simultaneously embarrassing, but also makes him something of a martyr,” says Saikrishna Prakash, a distinguished constitutional law professor at the University of Virginia Law School. Legal experts and political pundits on Thursday evening were rushing to join the conversation about how the indictment might impact Trump’s presidential chances. Some said itas he aims to be the dominant figure of his party.
But while it might be legally possible for Trump to run for president even if he is convicted, a number of practical hurdles could make campaigning more difficult. For example, if he were to be sentence to jail, Prakash says, that would inhibit his ability to conduct a campaign—but it wouldn’t necessarily inhibit his ability to win.
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