Donald Trump is now a convicted felon, but can he still run for president?
Donald Trump is the first former president in U.S. history to be convicted. But that doesn't stop him from running for president again. Thursday's ruling doesn't prevent him from seeking a return to the Oval Office for the time being, but future rulings will make it more difficult.
A 12-judge Manhattan jury found Trump guilty of 34 counts of falsifying business records after prosecutors proved he concealed kickbacks to his former lawyer, Michael Cohen. Cohen paid porn star Stormy Daniels $130,000 to keep quiet about an alleged sexual encounter before the 2016 election. President Trump denies any involvement in a tryst with Daniels. He is expected to appeal the ruling.
The U.S. Constitution lists only three qualifications for the presidency: a candidate must be a "natural-born" citizen, at least 35 years old, and have lived in the U.S. for at least 14 years. There is no requirement that the president not be a convicted felon.
Throughout history, some presidential candidates have campaigned after being indicted or convicted. Socialist candidate Eugene V. Debs ran for his fifth presidential election in 1920 while serving a prison sentence for sedition. Former Texas Gov. Rick Perry, who was indicted two years ago on charges of abuse of power and coercion of a public official, ran alongside Trump for president in the 2016 Republican primary, but dropped out a few months after the primary began.
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