Six lawsuits and/or investigations are underway against the former president of the United States of America, Donald Trump, who has already entered the race for the Republican presidential candidate in the 2024 elections:
for bribing porn actress Stormy Daniels to keep quiet about their affair and falsifying documents before the 2016 presidential election;
for keeping documents marked "state secret" on his private property and obstructing judicial investigations while he was president of the USA;
for trying to influence the course of the election in Georgia, where he faces charges of "conspiracy" for election fraud, which will be heard by the Grand Jury by the end of the summer;
because of the sexual coercion of journalist Jean Carroll;
due to financial malfeasance in New York.
The latest and most serious charge facing Donald Trump is for "criminal conduct" in the presidency after Joe Biden defeated him in the 2020 election. This includes, among other things, Trump's responsibility for the deadly attack on Capitol Hill.
Trump is not chasing charges
However, it does not occur to Trump to give up his candidacy for the Republican presidential candidate in the 2024 elections. He calls all the accusations, investigations and processes against him a "witch hunt", and presents himself as a victim of the "left-liberal elite". , writes the German "Spiegel". He even draws a parallel with the Nazi regime in Germany and its victims.
Trump skilfully uses each new accusation to close the ranks of his supporters even more. Despite everything, or thanks to all the accusations he is facing, he is considered the favorite to be chosen as the Republican presidential candidate.
Even a prisoner can run for president
Of course Trump is innocent until proven guilty. But even if he is legally charged, nothing prevents him based on the US Constitution and federal laws not only from running for president, but also from exercising the presidential function.
The US Constitution sets only a few conditions for presidential candidacy: the president must be born on US territory, must be at least 35 years old and have lived in the US for at least 14 years. Addendum to the Constitution no. 22 also stipulates that no one can be president of America more than twice, writes "Spiegel".
Other than that there are no restrictions. In some federal states, based on local laws, someone with a criminal record cannot be accepted into any state service, however, this does not apply at the federal level.
Trump could also run the campaign from prison
Even if before the election he is legally convicted and sent to prison, Trump would be allowed to run the presidential campaign. A precedent is the case of the socialist Eugene V. Debs, who in 1918 was sentenced to ten years in prison and lifelong loss of civil rights because he called on workers not to participate in the First World War, and in 1920, while in prison, he ran for president of the United States.
On that occasion, he won 3,4 percent of the vote, by far the most of his five participations in the presidential elections.
President Warren G. Harding pardoned him in 1921.
If he is convicted, he will not be allowed to vote
In 48 US federal states, convicts do not have the right to vote. In 2022, there were 4,6 million of them, which is about two percent of adult American citizens, according to the report of the non-governmental organization Sentencing Project.
In Florida, where Trump has been registered, the right to vote is restored to convicts after serving their sentence, but Trump, if he is convicted and detained by then, would only be at the beginning of his sentence.
Thus, in theory, it could happen, all in accordance with the current laws and the Constitution, that Donald Trump is not eligible to vote in the elections in which he is eligible to run for President of the United States.
President from a prison cell?
Election law expert Richard L. Haysen explained to CNN that it is not entirely clear what would happen if Donald Trump were elected president while he was serving a prison sentence. "How someone would exercise the presidency from prison is, fortunately, a question that we haven't had to answer so far," Haysen said.
Experts who spoke to the "New York Times" see the situation similarly.
In the case of such a situation, there is more possibility, writes "Spiegel".
The first is to deprive the elected president of the USA of his power based on Article 25 of the Constitution because he is unable, that is, from a prison cell, to perform and fulfill his "duties and obligations" that the presidential office entails. However, again according to the Constitution, the vice president of the USA and more than half of the cabinet that Trump himself will assemble would have to support that.
Since it is hardly conceivable, there would be the possibility that Trump would demand his release because he is unable to perform his constitutionally mandated presidential duties from prison.
In other words: in that case, the legislation would limit the executive and the division of power would be threatened.
In order to avoid such a crisis unprecedented in history, the outgoing president Biden could, all for the sake of national interest, pardon his successor, Trump, so that he could carry out the presidential function unhindered.
Legal unknowns
In practice, the President of the USA enjoys immunity from criminal prosecution. The Justice Department's 1973 top-level explanation states that the president should not be obstructed in the performance of his duties. How can he perform presidential duties, if he has to constantly respond to court summonses?
What would happen to the ongoing processes and investigations against Trump if he wins the presidential elections is a legal novelty, there are no such precedents that lawyers could refer to.
As for the federal charge of "criminal activity," Donald Trump, if re-elected president, would appoint himself a justice secretary who could drop the charge.
It is not entirely clear, however, what would happen in the event of Trump's victory to the processes at the federal state level, as in the case of the alleged illegal influence on the outcome of the election in Georgia, or the real estate manipulations in Manhattan.
Pardoning yourself
In the event that he is convicted, imprisoned and still wins the presidential election, Donald Trump could theoretically pardon himself. The "New York Times" writes that in that case, which is also unprecedented, the Supreme Court would still have to rule on whether it would be in accordance with the Constitution.
How did the US get into a situation where these scenarios are even conceivable? Because the creators of the American Constitution never thought that someone like Donald Trump could have a real chance of becoming the president of the United States of America. And for the second time.
AI/Spiegel/New York Times
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