2023-08-03 02:51:20
Last week, former US President Donald Trump, perhaps anticipating the inevitable, said he would maintain his candidacy to return to the White House even if he is found guilty and sentenced in one of the criminal investigations against him.
(Also read: Donald Trump: the serious crimes in his attempt to reverse the 2020 election result)
This was stated when radio host John Fredericks asked him if an unfavorable ruling would stop his campaign. The Republican quickly responded: “Not at all. There’s nothing in the Constitution that says you should.”
(You can read: Trump will appear this Thursday before a judge in Washington for a new reading of charges)
But is this so, as Trump pointed out? That is the question that is around in the United States today after the former president was charged this Tuesday with four charges for allegedly trying to reverse the result of the 2020 elections, in which he lost to Democrat Joe Biden.
A case that adds to two other processes that are already advancing against him. The first for negligence in the management of confidential White House documents and the second for payments to a porn actress in an apparent bribery case.
(Keep reading: Donald Trump and Joe Biden, tied for 2024 presidential elections, according to survey)
The question becomes more relevant now that Trump, 77, seems unbeatable against the rest of the Republican candidates for his party’s primaries for the 2024 elections, according to recent polls.
Trump supporters gathered outside the courthouse.
Indeed, Trump (2017-2021) could attend the 2024 elections, as is his intention, and even if he ends up behind bars, despite having been charged this Tuesday for the third time with criminal charges.
(Also read: Donald Trump continues to sweep the Republicans despite his legal troubles)
Despite the numerous lawsuits against him and being the first ex-president of the country to face criminal charges, Trump for the moment remains the great favorite among Republicans to win the nomination of his party for the presidential elections of November 2024, very by in front of his main opponent, Florida Governor RonDeSantis.
And it seems that there is nothing legally that prevents him from running in next year’s Republican primaries or from running in the general elections.
Last March, when Trump was criminally charged for the first time for an alleged bribery of porn actress Stormy Daniels, Quinnipiac University Political Science professor Scott McLean told the Efe agency that even if a person is in prison can stand for election in the United States.
(See also: DeSantis reveals what his economic plan will be if he wins the US presidency.)
“There is legally no reason why Donald Trump cannot continue his campaign for the Presidency,” the professor clarified at the time.
Donald Trump, former President of the United States.
Photo:
EFE/EPA/MICHAEL REYNOLDS
In fact, it would not be the first electoral campaign with a candidate in prison. In 1920 the candidate for the White House, the socialist Eugene Debs, stood for election and obtained almost a million votes while he was in a jail in Atlanta (Georgia, United States) after being convicted of sedition in 1918 for protesting against United States involvement in World War I.
Similarly, in the case of Trump, “if he is ultimately convicted of those charges or others in other (judicial) proceedings, he could run for election,” McLean said. “There’s nothing in the Constitution that says you can’t.”
(Also read: Will Trump withdraw from the presidential race if he is convicted? Former president responds)
The ex-president could even return to the White House, if he won the elections and even if he received a prison sentence against him.
This was pointed out to Efe by the professor of Politics and Constitutional Law at Cedarville University, Mark C. Smith, who stressed that this would be possible.
“There have been members of the United States Congress who have served parts of their term after being convicted of a federal crime, and there was at least one who ran for office while incarcerated,” Smith said, adding that that legislator was James Traficant ( 1985-2002), of Ohio, who was prosecuted for using campaign funds for personal use.
(Also: Prosecutor adds three more charges against Donald Trump for withholding classified documents)
“After being convicted, but before sentencing, he continued to serve (in the post),” Smith said. “After sentencing, he was expelled. He later ran for a US House seat while in prison He received 15% of the vote.”
In light of these precedents, the Cedarville University expert concluded that nothing changes “technically” for Trump: “His political perspectives may change, but not his legal capacity to run or serve” in public office.
Your political views may change, but not your legal capacity to run or serve.
This Tuesday, the former president was indicted by a Washington DC grand jury on four counts: conspiracy to defraud the United States, conspiracy to obstruct an official proceeding, obstruction and attempt to obstruct an official proceeding, and conspiracy against rights.
(Also read: Donald Trump: the start date of the trial against him for secret documents is defined)
This case and the one in New York for the bribery of Daniels are not the only criminal cases he faces, since in Florida he faces 40 charges for the classified documents found by the FBI in his Mar-a-Lago mansion.
In any case, these are not the only processes in which the controversial Trump, 77, is involved. He has several open fronts for crimes of a political, economic and sexual nature.
WILLIAM MORENO HERNANDEZ
INTERNATIONAL WRITING
*With information from Efe
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