WASHINGTON, D.C. — Legal experts say there are plenty of questions to be answered regarding former President Donald Trump’s multiple indictments.
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Some have differing opinions of how the charges against Trump could impact the upcoming presidential race.
We asked our own legal experts if an indictment, or even a conviction, disqualified a candidate from running for president or serving as president.
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“Nope, neither one of them disqualifies a president from running or serving,” John Malcolm of the Heritage Foundation said.
“The indictments do not play a role, and indeed, a conviction wouldn’t either,” Georgetown University Law Professor David Super added.
Super says it’s still an open question as to whether a Trump would be able to pardon himself if he were to win re-election after a conviction.
“It’s never been tested. This has never come up,” Super said. “Richard Nixon believed he couldn’t pardon himself and his successor, President Ford, did it instead.”
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Malcolm says it’s a matter about which many legal scholars still disagree.
“I tend to think, based on what I have read, that the answer is that he could pardon himself,” Malcolm said.
However, a pardon from a president would only apply to a federal conviction, meaning it wouldn’t cover the case Trump faces in Georgia.
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When asked if a sitting president could serve time in prison, experts say it’s not likely if he’s not tried until after he’s in office.
“It’s been accepted for a long time that a sitting president cannot be charged with a crime,” Malcolm said.
“In all likelihood, if he has not been convicted before he resumes office, the Justice Department would drop the case,” Super added
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