Ex-President of the United States Donald Trump several new charges have been brought against him related to the handling of secret documents since the end of Trump’s term in office.
This is the first time that federal charges have been brought against an ex-president of the United States.
According to media reports, there would be at least seven charges, but the Ministry of Justice has not yet confirmed the matter.
Trump’s indictments will be read next week Tuesday in Miami at around 10 PM Finnish time.
This story tells what significance the numerous charges can have on Trump’s presidential campaign.
A researcher from the Foreign Policy Institute evaluated the matter for Yelle Maria Lindén.
How would a criminal conviction affect Trump’s presidential candidacy?
Even if Trump is convicted of federal crimes, he could participate in the election as a presidential candidate.
The US Constitution requires only three things from a presidential candidate: one must be a natural-born US citizen, over 35 years old and have lived in the US for 14 years.
In this way, the constitution wanted to ensure that no politically motivated charges would be brought against those aspiring to the office of president.
Presidential candidates are therefore not required to have a clean criminal record.
What happens if Trump wins the election and is found guilty of federal crimes?
In theory, as president, Trump could pardon anyone, including himself. According to the most common interpretation of the US Constitution, a self-pardon would be unconstitutional, but the interpretation is not uncontroversial, so Trump could take advantage of it.
If Trump were to receive a prison sentence while he was president, Congress could impeach him through the same impeachment process that Trump already went through twice during his first term as president.
During Trump’s first term in office, Republicans blocked the impeachment.
If Trump were to be convicted of a serious crime, such as involvement in a popular uprising or rebellion against the state, he could be declared ineligible to hold federal political office in the eyes of the law.
In that case, the office of the president would be held by the vice president.
Can Trump go to jail?
It is not yet known how Trump’s position as ex-president and presidential candidate would affect the possible sentence. According to the US Constitution, all citizens should be equal before the law.
It is likely that the special counsel wanted to finish the lawsuit related to the handling of secret documents as soon as possible, since Trump’s other alleged crimes are precedents in their own right.
On the other hand, the court is aware of numerous cases of keeping sensitive documents, conspiracy and obstructing the investigation, which can be compared to a possible sentence.
Even if Trump is not convicted, bringing federal charges against an ex-president is unprecedented in US history.
For example, the president Richard Nixon received a preemptive pardon from his successor From Gerald Ford In the Watergate case. However, Nixon was never indicted, even though an indictment was drawn up.
How do criminal charges affect Trump’s support?
Trump’s support among passionate Republicans is likely to increase. However, there are other supporters of the party than Trump fanatics.
Trump is likely to use the charges against him in his presidential campaign. Trump has played the victim before and falsely claimed that the previous presidential election was fraudulent.
Among passionate supporters, the story of a political chase is likely to evoke sympathy and support.
Among other Republican supporters, numerous lawsuits could weaken Trump’s chances of winning the election.
Primary elections are crucial.
If Republican voters feel that Trump’s legal mess is making it difficult for Democrats Joe Biden winning, they are likely to vote in the primaries Ron DeSantisia or other Republican candidates.
Also, the influence of social media on the outcome of the 2024 presidential election may be less than in 2016, when Trump became president.
Trump has quarreled with Twitter and Facebook, and fled to the Truth Social service he founded. There he has more than five million followers.
In Truth Social, however, Trump is mostly able to influence his core group of supporters.
Without popular social media channels, Trump cannot reach people from different ideological worlds.
What about congressional usurpation and other crimes? Will they affect Trump’s presidential candidacy?
In addition to the federal charges, Trump is currently fighting numerous other lawsuits against him.
Among the legal cases, the most significant are related to Trump’s role in the 2021 coup attempt in the US Congress, Trump’s attempt to change the election result of the presidential election in the state of Georgia, and suspicions related to the porn star by Stephanie Clifford to pay to keep quiet before the 2016 presidential election.
Not all charges may be filed, witnesses heard, and verdicts announced before the November 2024 presidential election.
Despite numerous pending lawsuits, Trump has nominated himself for the presidential election and started his campaign.
However, a large number of lawsuits may prevent him from campaigning with the same volume as in 2016.
Has something similar happened before?
Trump is the first former US president to face federal charges.
Democrat Joe Biden has also entered the presidential race, and classified documents have also been found in his possession.
It is likely that during the presidential race, Republicans will try to use the Biden case to show parallels with the Trump case.
The main difference between the Biden and Trump cases is that Trump refused to turn over the documents to the National Archives after his presidency.
According to the US Federal Police FBI, 11,000 documents have been found in Trump’s possession, which he had taken home at the end of his presidency.
In Biden’s case, there is no evidence that he tried to hide the documents.