- #IF TRUMP DECLARES MARTIAL LAW WILL HE REMAIN PRESIDENT TRIAL#
- #IF TRUMP DECLARES MARTIAL LAW WILL HE REMAIN PRESIDENT FREE#
The earlier memo used strong words: “he spectacle of an indicted President still trying to serve as Chief Executive boggles the imagination.”Įven more pointedly, the memos observe that a criminal prosecution against a sitting president could result in “physical interference with the President’s performance of his official duties that it would amount to an incapacitation.” In evaluating whether a sitting president could be indicted or imprisoned while in office, both the 19 memos outlined the consequences of a pending indictment for the president’s functioning in office. They concluded he could not.īut what about a president indicted, convicted, or both, before taking office, as could be the case for Trump? These two memos addressed whether a sitting president could, under the Constitution, be indicted while in office. READ MORE: 7 things to know about Trump’s indictment in New York so far The memo reflected on a 1973 Office of Legal Counsel memo produced during Watergate titled “Amenability of the President, Vice President and other Civil Officers to Federal Criminal Prosecution while in Office.” The background to the 1973 memo was that President Richard Nixon was under investigation for his role in the Watergate break-in and Vice President Spiro Agnew was under grand jury investigation for tax evasion. This point – that functioning as president would be difficult while under indictment or after being convicted – was made plain in a 2000 memo written by the Department of Justice. But in the case of conviction, incarceration in state or federal prison involves restrictions on liberty that would significantly compromise the president’s ability to lead.
#IF TRUMP DECLARES MARTIAL LAW WILL HE REMAIN PRESIDENT TRIAL#
Ultimately, though, the spectacle of a criminal trial in state or federal court would have a dramatic effect on a presidential campaign and on the credibility of a president, if elected.Īll defendants are presumed innocent until proved guilty. Indictment for a state crime may seem less significant than federal charges brought by the Department of Justice. Governing from jail?Ī presidential candidate could be indicted, prosecuted and convicted by either state or federal authorities. And the Constitution doesn’t provide an easy answer to the problem posed by such a compromised chief executive.
Nevertheless, there seems no question that indictment, conviction or both – let alone a prison sentence – would significantly compromise a president’s ability to function in office. The fact of his indictment and potential trial is irrelevant to his qualifications for office under the Constitution. This is the prevailing legal standard that would apply to former President Trump.
#IF TRUMP DECLARES MARTIAL LAW WILL HE REMAIN PRESIDENT FREE#
Thus, because the Constitution does not require that the president be free from indictment, conviction or prison, it follows that a person under indictment or in prison may run for the office and may even serve as president. In cases involving analogous qualifications for members of Congress, the Supreme Court has held that such qualifications form a “constitutional ceiling” – prohibiting any additional qualifications to be imposed by any means. resident for 14 years and a natural-born citizen. Constitution sets forth very explicit qualifications for the presidency: The president must be 35 years of age, a U.S. What are the consequences of an indictment and potential trial for his campaign and, if his effort is successful, his future presidency?Īrticle II of the U.S.
READ MORE: Trump to be arraigned Tuesday to face New York City indictmentĪt the same time, Trump is expected to continue his campaign for the presidency, seeking to regain in 2024 the position he lost in 2020 to Joe Biden. president or former president has been indicted. The specific state charges, reports The New York Times, “remain a mystery” but will be related to the Manhattan district attorney’s investigation of Trump for making hush money payments to a porn star just before the 2016 presidential election. A Manhattan grand jury has voted to indict former President Donald Trump.
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