On Tuesday, former President Donald Trump went to a Miami courthouse and pleaded not guilty to 37 felony counts. However, even if he is indicted and convicted, it would not prevent him from running for another term in the White House. Trump is facing 37 charges related to his handling of sensitive documents. These charges include retaining national defense information, attempting to obstruct justice, and lying to investigators. Despite the ongoing criminal trial, Trump will still be able to campaign for the 2024 presidency. It is also important to note that even if he is convicted, the Constitution does not prevent him from running for the presidency.
According to the U.S. Constitution, to be eligible to become the President of the United States, one must be a natural-born citizen, at least 35 years of age, and a resident of the country for at least 14 years. While the Constitution includes specific disqualifications for presidential candidates, none of them are applicable to Trump’s criminal case. However, he would be disqualified if he were to be impeached by the House and then convicted by the Senate.
The House has impeached President Trump twice, but he was never convicted by the Senate for high crimes and misdemeanors. If he had been convicted, he would have been removed from office and prohibited from serving again.
The 14th Amendment has a clause that aims to prevent ex-Confederate soldiers from holding office. Some people on the political left suggest that Trump should be disqualified from holding office because of the alleged insurrection during the January 6 riot. However, using the 14th Amendment to stop Trump from running would require a lengthy legal process and is not connected to the charges against him for mishandling classified documents.
If Trump wins a second term in office, he may pardon himself since the Constitution doesn’t prevent a president from granting a pardon except in cases of impeachment. Trump declared that he will remain in the race for the 2024 GOP primaries, even if he’s found guilty of crimes, and he will “never leave”.
“Look, if I would have left, I would have left prior to the original race in 2016,” Trump said. “That was a rough one. In theory that was not doable.”