Former President Donald Trump was indicted last week for his involvement in an alleged hush money payment to porn star Stormy Daniels. The indictment marks the first time in U.S. history that a former president has been indicted.
Despite the historical significance, the indictment is more consequential with respect to the future. Why? Because Trump is currently a presidential candidate. Indeed, he is the leading Republican contender. So, the real question is: Can Trump run for office after being charged with a crime? The short answer is yes, yes, he can.
“There is no constitutional bar on a felon running for office,” Richard Hasen, an election law professor, told 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.”
Donald Trump Can Run
According to the Constitution, here are the requirements to run for president: One must be a natural born citizen; one must be at least 35 years old; and one must have been a resident of the U.S. for at least 14 years. That’s it. There’s nothing in there about criminal charges or porn stars or hush money payments or Michael Cohen. And since Trump is a natural-born citizen, over the age of 35, who has been living in the U.S. for over 14 years, he’s eligible to be president.
Trump won’t be the first presidential candidate to run after being charged with a crime. Trump hasn’t even been convicted — and at least two convicted men have run for president. In 1920, Eugene Debs ran for president from a federal prison. Debs was the nominee of the Socialist Party, serving for a violation of the Espionage Act related to a speech he had given. Debs earned 3% of the national vote.
Lyndon LaRouche, another convicted felon, ran in every presidential election between 1976 and 2004. LaRouche was “a fringe candidate who embraced conspiracy theories” who “was convicted of tax and mail fraud in 1988 and ran his 1992 campaign from prison.”
Does Trump Benefit?
Trump, who is notably stubborn, has indicated that he will proceed with his campaign despite the indictment. Actually, Trump is expected to spin the indictment into a positive among his core supporters.
“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,” TIME reported. “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,” Saikrishna Prakash, a constitutional law professor, said of Trump’s indictment.
Alan Dershowitz, another law professor, who helped Trump with his first impeachment defense (and helped O.J. Simpson with his murder defense) said that Trump might even use his mugshot as a campaign poster. “He will be mugshot and fingerprinted. There’s really no way around that,” Dershowitz said.
MORE: Is AOC a Sellout?
MORE: Hunter Biden Has a Big China Problem
MORE: Kamala Harris ‘Seems to Be An Albatross’
MORE: Pete Buttigieg: Running for President?
MORE: What Trump Getting Arrested Could Look Like
The sight of Trump being hauled in for a mugshot and fingerprinting should serve as validation for the throngs of Trump supporters who have long since bought into the idea that their candidate was a target of the establishment, whom Trump was seeking to reform. So, not only can Trump run for president post-indictment — he may, in certain respects, benefit from being indicted.
Harrison Kass is the Senior Editor at 19FortyFive. An attorney, pilot, guitarist, and minor pro hockey player, Harrison joined the US Air Force as a Pilot Trainee but was medically discharged. Harrison holds a BA from Lake Forest College, a JD from the University of Oregon, and an MA from New York University. Harrison listens to Dokken.
