"If ifs and ans were pots and pans,
we'd have no use for tinkers." -- Pug Mahoney
What if Donald Trump wins the GOP nomination for president and is convicted of a federal crime during the election season?
As our resident scholar understands the Constitution, it won't matter, at least temporarily. It would only become an issue if he should win election. Then the question would be whether a convicted criminal could serve as President of the United States.
The Constitution says no, he cannot. Section 3 of the Fourteenth Amendment is clear: "No person shall ... hold any office, under the United States, or under any State, ... who shall have engaged in insurrection or rebellion" against them, or who has given aid or comfort to those who have.
His support of the Jan. 6 rebels is a clear violation of that part of the Constitution. In addition, there is plentiful evidence that he himself has committed various crimes while in office, and in stashing security documents and refusing to give them back after leaving office.
There are currently four legal actions against him on both the state and the federal level. The most recent development has been a criminal indictment in Florida. Eventually, this case will go to trial, most likely at the same time as the election season next year.
The current verbal noise made by ultra-right Trump backers blames Democrats for any and all legal procedures filed against him, insisting that all complaints are entirely, completely and in every detail solely political and have no legal value at all, under any circumstances.
That's what they say. But what if there is some truth to the allegations?
We won't know until the trial begins -- unless he cops a plea and ducks out, or finds a way to delay it until after the election.
But that is clearly the problem. Can a convicted criminal serve as a government official, on any level?
What if Donald Trump wins the GOP nomination for president and is convicted of a federal crime during the election season?
As our resident scholar understands the Constitution, it won't matter, at least temporarily. It would only become an issue if he should win election. Then the question would be whether a convicted criminal could serve as President of the United States.
The Constitution says no, he cannot. Section 3 of the Fourteenth Amendment is clear: "No person shall ... hold any office, under the United States, or under any State, ... who shall have engaged in insurrection or rebellion" against them, or who has given aid or comfort to those who have.
His support of the Jan. 6 rebels is a clear violation of that part of the Constitution. In addition, there is plentiful evidence that he himself has committed various crimes while in office, and in stashing security documents and refusing to give them back after leaving office.
There are currently four legal actions against him on both the state and the federal level. The most recent development has been a criminal indictment in Florida. Eventually, this case will go to trial, most likely at the same time as the election season next year.
The current verbal noise made by ultra-right Trump backers blames Democrats for any and all legal procedures filed against him, insisting that all complaints are entirely, completely and in every detail solely political and have no legal value at all, under any circumstances.
That's what they say. But what if there is some truth to the allegations?
We won't know until the trial begins -- unless he cops a plea and ducks out, or finds a way to delay it until after the election.
But that is clearly the problem. Can a convicted criminal serve as a government official, on any level?
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