How Donald Trump’s trials and the Republican primary will intersect
Only FOUR qualifications are necessary to become an American president. Article II of the constitution requires presidents to be natural-born citizens who have reached 35 years of age and lived in America for 14 years. The 22nd Amendment adds that candidates must not have been elected twice to the job previously. Donald Trump satisfies those conditions, including the final hurdle—despite his insistence that he won both the 2016 and 2020 elections. Nothing prevents candidates dogged by legal troubles, including criminal convictions, from running for president. Several presidential aspirants have even sought the office from behind bars.
The cases and the primaries will overlap in ways likely to set the rule of law against the will of the people. This month Mr Trump was found liable for sexually assaulting and defaming E. Jean Carroll (he is appealing against the judgment). He may soon owe more than the $5m the jury ordered him to pay, as Ms Carroll’s lawyer is asking for new damages stemming from Mr Trump’s doubling-down at an appearance on CNN the day after the verdict.
Jail time is a risk, too. Mr Trump became the first former president to be criminally indicted on April 4th when he was charged with 34 counts of falsifying business records in a Manhattan courtroom. The indictment involves an alleged cover-up, just before the 2016 election, of payments to hide alleged trysts with Stephanie Clifford, an adult-film actress (also known as Stormy Daniels) and Karen McDougal, a model. According to Alvin Bragg, the Manhattan district attorney, Mr Trump illegally concealed hush-money cheques to Mmes Clifford and McDougal as well as to Dino Sajudin, a former doorman at Trump Tower who allegedly knew about a child Mr Trump had fathered out of wedlock.
2023-05-25 07:59:03
Post from www.economist.com
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