WASHINGTON — Donald Trump meets the constitutional requirements to become president — he’s a natural born U.S. citizen over age 35 who’s been living in the country for at least 14 years.
Legally, his multiple indictments, including federal charges related to classified documents that could lead to prison time, wouldn’t stop him.
Trump could run for president from behind bars, and it’s been done before.
Eugene V. Debs made his fifth run for president as the Socialist Party nominee in 1920 while serving a 10-year sentence for encouraging resistance to World War I.
“It is perfectly legal to run for president if you’re under indictment, if you’re on trial, even if you’re in prison. Nothing bars you from doing that,” said Chris Edelson, a government professor at American University who specializes in presidential power under the Constitution.
Debs collected just 3% of the vote nationwide from behind bars.
If Trump won a second term from prison, it would be so unprecedented that experts aren’t sure what would happen.
He could attempt to pardon himself – though presidents have clemency power only over federal crimes. That wouldn’t help if he’s convicted in New York, where he was indicted two months ago on 34 counts related to hush money paid to porn star Stormy Daniels during the 2016 campaign.
“It would be inconvenient to say the least if Trump was re-elected president while serving time in prison,” University of Texas at Austin government and law professor Jeffrey Abramson said by email. “Trump would immediately pardon himself of any federal convictions, even though the issue of whether a president can self-pardon has never been determined.”
It’s also possible that a prison sentence would be delayed or suspended.
“There’s two competing principles,” Edelson said. “You can’t really be president from prison. You can’t accomplish both things, so the conclusion might be that one’s got to give.”
Although Trump technically could run for president from prison, and serve both time and country, the way his trials likely will play out means he likely won’t have to.
Trump’s trial in the hush money case is set for March 2024, but even if convicted, he’s not likely to serve time for those crimes, Edelson said.
There’s more risk of prison time in the federal documents case, he said. That trial has not been scheduled yet.
“Even if somehow there was a quick trial and a guilty verdict in the sentence, there would be an appeal,” Edelson said. “I don’t expect there’s any scenario where he would be in prison before the election.”
The legal battles could certainly hamper Trump’s ability to barnstorm the country for votes, and provide ammunition to political adversaries. “At the very least he’s going to be involved in preparations related to the trial,” Edelson said. “How does that affect one’s ability to campaign, just as a logistical matter?”
If Trump campaigned and won, he would likely use his power as president to shut down the prosecution against him, Edelson said.
There’s another looming risk.
None of the charges Trump faces would automatically preclude his election. But special counsel Jack Smith is still reportedly investigating the ex-president’s role in the Jan. 6, 2021, attack on the U.S. Capitol. Fourteen defendants have been convicted of sedition or pleaded guilty to that charge.
A sedition conviction does bar someone from holding government office under Section Three of the 14th Amendment, which concerns insurrection or rebellion. The provision was designed to keep Confederate officials out of power after the Civil War.
Absent that sort of charge and conviction, winning the presidency would likely make all of Trump’s other criminal troubles disappear, Edelson said.
“The prospect of that is dizzying,” he said. “It means that you can escape criminal liability not because you’re innocent, but simply because you win an election.”
———
