Billy Tucker

Martha Murdock

Trump blames 'radical left lunatics' for college protests

Politics

Michael Cohen Testifies Before the House Intelligence Committee

The Washington Post

For The Washington Post

nat-trumpnyjurytracker-12

Trump Manhattan criminal court

Former US President Trump attends hush money hearing over porn star payment, New York, USA - 25 Mar 2024

Former U.S. President Donald Trump appears at court in New York

FILE PHOTO: David Pecker, chair and CEO of American Media, speaks at the Shape and Men's Fitness Super Bowl Party in New York

Donald Trump

for The Washington Post

Former U.S. President Trump's criminal trial on charges of falsifying business records continues in New York

Photographer

Respond to prefers-color-scheme dark in app web views

Follow section front redirects in Spectrum

Enable NLP source in PCS for load testing

Switch off the News Alerts Survey Widget when we have enough responses

Poll to determine if new LUF updates are available

Allows the winning A/B test variant to be turned on without Spectrum deployment

Show infinite scrolling sections in Assembler MultiView

Show option for NLP article summaries in Action Bar

A general feature flag for Recipe Features that aren't yet released

Feature flag for media team features that aren't yet released

Use new Orca video player for preroll plugin in Spectrum

Show the snow tracker (instead of the heat tracker) on Spectrum

That time football legend, rig-driving eligible bachelor Biden was arrested

World Press Freedom Day, 2024

Democrats hope move to reschedule marijuana will help them in November

Stephen A. Smith would like even more of your attention

Wait, what is Stephen A. Smith talking about? Find out with our quiz.

Local sports networks go dark mid-game amid dispute with Comcast 

Miss Manners: Offering my bedroom to guests

Carolyn Hax: Will request for a postnup offend much younger wife?

Ask Amy: My wife’s sister confessed her feelings for me

Biden’s internet-for-all program needs Musk’s help

The tech billionaires who helped ban TikTok want to write AI rules for Trump

Microsoft’s “responsible AI” chief worries about the open web

Taxes are inevitable. Paying to prepare them doesn’t have to be.

A murder plot that cannot be ignored: India must come clean at last

How to confront antisemitism, deal with protests — and respect free speech

Blinded in battle, these Ukrainian soldiers will never see their new babies 

Chinese EVs are good for the world. Biden says they’re bad for America. 

Middle East conflict live updates: Blinken urges Hamas to accept deal, says pier for aid close to completion

Cat climbed into Amazon return box, found alive 630 miles away

Brave Little Hunter is free: Baby orca escapes lagoon for open seas

I learned to heal my sadness by cradling dying chickens 

Trump and allies say Biden pays rent for ‘illegals’ in Michigan. Not true.

Eighty percent of Ukraine-Israel bill will be spent in U.S. or by U.S. military

Trevor Williams’s escape act helps Nationals blank Rangers 

How to make the most of Passport DC’s free embassy tours

Dose of adversity gives Dylan Crews a new perspective in Class AA

What makes a great Met Gala outfit

Police march toward Columbia University gate

Adaptive adventures are making national parks more inclusive

Southwest passengers now get a $75 voucher for big flight disruptions

Man arrested at Yellowstone for allegedly kicking bison while drunk

US President Joe Biden Departure

See more coverage in your recommendations

Get the weekly Campaign Moment newsletter

Set alerts for major election developments

Election 2024

The Campaign Moment newsletter

Politics alerts

Brendan Mcdermid/Pool

<a href="https://www.washingtonpost.com/donald-trump/" target="_blank" class="contextual_link">Donald Trump</a> is facing <a href="https://www.washingtonpost.com/politics/interactive/2023/trump-investigations-indictments/" target=_blank>felony charges</a> in four separate criminal indictments in three states and Washington, D.C., with a guilty verdict in any of the cases possibly meaning a prison sentence.

The circumstances have raised an often-asked question: Could Trump, or anyone else, be convicted of a felony and serve as commander in chief, possibly from prison?

The short answer, legal experts said, is yes — because the U.S. Constitution does not forbid it.

“The Constitution has a limited set of requirements to be president. You have to be at least 35, a natural-born U.S. citizen and a resident here for at least 14 years,” said UCLA professor Richard L. Hasen, an election law expert.

Trump Hush Money

Follow<a href="https://www.washingtonpost.com/politics/2024/05/02/trump-hush-money-trial-live-updates-gag-order/" target=_blank> live updates from Donald Trump’s hush money trial</a> and <a href="https://www.washingtonpost.com/newsletters/the-trump-trials/" target=_blank>sign up for The Trump Trials newsletters</a> for <a href="https://www.washingtonpost.com/politics/2024/04/30/trump-trial-hush-money-takeaways/" target=_blank>daily recaps of the trial</a>.

Hasen said <a href="https://www.washingtonpost.com/politics/interactive/2024/14th-amendment-trump-ballot/" target=_blank>the 14th Amendment</a>, passed by Congress after the Civil War, bars anyone who participated in an insurrection from running for the presidency. But “that’s not what Trump is on trial for in New York, and so there are no other restrictions,” he said, referring to the former president’s first criminal case, which began April 15.

Nor is Trump charged with insurrection in his other criminal cases.

The scenario might seem counterintuitive, given that numerous states prohibit felons from holding state or local office and even restrict their right to vote. As he has in so many respects, Trump is again testing political norms and demonstrating that just because the nation’s democratic system might not have anticipated an unlikely outcome does not mean it can’t happen.

Trump is charged in state court in New York with <a href="https://www.washingtonpost.com/national-security/2024/04/08/falsifying-business-records-charges-trump-hush-money-case/" target="_blank">falsifying business records to conceal a hush money payment</a> from voters in the 2016 election. He also faces <a href="https://www.washingtonpost.com/national-security/2023/08/01/trump-indictment-jan-6-2020-election/" target="_blank">charges in federal court in D.C.</a> and <a href="https://www.washingtonpost.com/national-security/2023/08/24/trump-georgia-surrender-fulton-county-jail/" target="_blank">state court in Georgia</a> related to trying to overturn the results of the 2020 election. In Florida, he is <a href="https://www.washingtonpost.com/national-security/2024/04/04/cannon-trump-jack-smith-presidential-records-act/" target="_blank">under federal indictment for allegedly mishandling </a>classified materials after leaving the White House and obstructing government efforts to retrieve them.

He has pleaded not guilty to all <a href="https://www.washingtonpost.com/politics/2023/trump-charges-jan-6-classified-documents/" target=_blank>88 counts</a> that he faces.

Tracking Trump's criminal trials? Sign up for our weekly newsletter

In drafting the Constitution, the framers did not seriously consider that someone convicted of a significant crime would be a viable candidate for the White House, said Kimberly Wehle, a law professor at the University of Baltimore. Instead, she said, such a person presumably would be stunted in their political rise and unlikely to reach the highest levels of the American political system.

Applicants for many federal jobs, particularly in the intelligence and defense agencies, cannot pass background checks to gain high-level national security clearances if they have a criminal record. Why Congress, in passing the 14th Amendment, did not go further to ban all felons from the presidency is a question of political will, Wehle said.

“Why are we as a country so allergic to the idea of ensuring that people who reach that unparalleled position of power are subject to  the same considerations and requirements that many people under his chain of command, and who hold regular jobs, have to comply with?” Wehle said.

At least once, a candidate who made it onto the presidential ballot <a href="https://www.washingtonpost.com/dc-md-va/2019/09/22/socialist-who-ran-president-prison-won-nearly-million-votes/" target=_blank>conducted his campaign from a prison cell</a>. In 1920, Eugene V. Debs, leader of the Socialist Party of America, stood as his party’s presidential nominee while serving a 10-year federal sentence for sedition over his vocal opposition to the involvement of the United States in World War I. Debs received roughly 900,000 votes, or about 3 percent of ballots cast that year.

Trump commands far greater public support: With the nominating conventions still months away, polls show him slightly leading <a href="https://www.washingtonpost.com/elections/candidates/joe-biden-2024/" target="_blank" class="contextual_link">President Biden</a> in several swing states. Though some of the surveys indicate that his support could drop if he is convicted of a crime, Trump has consolidated backing within the Republican Party since the indictments began a little more than a year ago, vanquishing his rivals in the GOP primary contests.

A major challenge to his ability to run was rejected last month.

In December, the Colorado Supreme Court ruled that Trump could be kicked off the state’s primary ballot under Section 3 of the 14th Amendment because of his alleged involvement in inciting the <a href="https://www.washingtonpost.com/january-6-capitol-riot/" target="_blank" class="contextual_link">Jan. 6</a>, 2021, insurrection at the U.S. Capitol.

But the U.S. Supreme Court <a href="https://www.washingtonpost.com/politics/2024/03/04/supreme-court-trump-ballot-decision/" target=_blank>unanimously reversed that decision</a> in March, stating that only Congress can enforce the constitutional provision that bars insurrectionists from becoming federal officeholders and candidates.

Legal experts said it would take a broader constitutional amendment, with the backing of two-thirds of Congress to  propose a ban to keep felons from running for the White House — a highly unlikely outcome given the nation’s sharply polarized political climate.

A legal solution “is not the best path,” said Chris Edelson, an assistant professor of government at American University. Rather, he said, Republican and Democratic leaders, along with the electorate, must reaffirm their commitment to democracy by rejecting candidates who have violated the law or been charged with crimes.

“In a healthy, functioning system there would have been a different nominee. Republicans would have said, ‘Hey, this is too much,’” Edelson said of Trump.

In <a href="https://www.findlaw.com/voting/my-voting-guide/felon-voting-laws-by-state.html" target="_blank">most states</a>, felons lose their voting rights for at least a limited period. In Florida, Trump’s state of residency, they must complete their sentences, including parole or probation, and pay fees and fines <a href="https://www.npr.org/2023/05/04/1173786694/felon-voting-database-florida-registration-card-disclaimer" target="_blank">before regaining the right</a> to cast a ballot.

That sets up the possibility that Trump, if convicted, could lose his right to vote while remaining on the presidential ballot.

Desmond Meade, executive director of the Florida Rights Restoration Coalition, said Florida’s felon voting ban is far too restrictive. He said it was ironic that in a GOP presidential primary debate last summer, Florida Gov. <a href="https://www.washingtonpost.com/elections/candidates/ron-desantis-2024/" target="_blank" class="contextual_link">Ron DeSantis</a> — who has <a href="https://www.cbsnews.com/news/felon-voting-rights-ron-desantis-florida-govenor-signs-bill-restricting-felon-voting-rights/" target="_blank">opposed efforts</a> to ease voting restrictions for those found guilty of crimes — indicated he would support Trump as the party nominee even if he were convicted. Five other then-candidates agreed.

“That was an amazing moment,” Meade said, “because if you’re willing to support someone running for president who has a felony conviction, there should be no reason you don’t support someone who has a felony conviction from being able to vote for who they want as president.”

Selden Ring Award for Investigative Reporting, 2005 

Honorable mention, Merriman Smith Memorial Award for excellence in presidential news coverage under deadline, 2016

University of Missouri, bachelor of journalism

David Nakamura covers the Justice Department with a focus on civil rights. He has previously covered the White House,  sports, education, city government and foreign affairs. 

David Nakamura

Trump can still serve as president if he’s convicted of a crime

the-washington-post

EPA-EFE/Shutterstock

An illustration that depicts the colors of the American flag as a jail cell door, with the headline: Yes, Trump can serve as president even if convicted of a crime

Washington Post illustration

Yes, Trump can serve as president even if convicted of a crime

Live updates

The jury

The charges

Key people

The judge

Trump's lawyers

The prosecutor

Balance of Power Pair

U.S. House Aggregate

U.S. Senate Aggregate

Trump hush money trial

washpost

prism://prism.query/site,/politics/courts-law&limit=20

Courts & Law

Latest news and coverage of the U.S. Supreme Court

prism://prism.query/site-articles-only,/national&limit=20

National

The Washington Post's national news coverage. Get the latest national news, featuring national security, science and the courts. Read breaking national news headlines from across the U.S.

prism://prism.query/site-articles-only,/politics&limit=20

Cut through the 2024 election noise. Get The Campaign Moment newsletter.

Post Politics from The Washington Post is the source for political news headlines, in-depth politics coverage and political opinion, plus breaking news on the biden administration and White House, Congress, the Supreme Court, elections and more.