Theunsealed search warrantexecuted atDonald Trump’sMar-a-Lago propertyon Aug. 8 revealed that the former president is under criminal investigation for possible violations of theEspionage Actand other laws related to national security.
But that investigation — which concerns a trove of top-secret documents confiscated from the former president’s Palm Beach, Fla., home — is ongoing. Trump has not been charged with any crimes and has denied any wrongdoing, claiming that the records were declassified.
Still, close Trump ally and Fox News hostSean Hannitywants listeners of his radio show to know that even if the former president is charged and eventually convicted of a crime, it won’t be a dealbreaker when it comes to running for president.
“If they think that they’re going to somehow make this about Donald Trump and prevent him from running from office, well they obviously have not read something called the Constitution,” Hannity said Monday onPremiere Radio Network’sThe Sean Hannity Show. “Because the Constitution is pretty clear on what qualifies one to be able to run for president.”
That’s true.Article II, Section 1, Clause 5of the Constitution states that U.S. citizenship, being 35 years or older and a resident for at least 14 years are what’s required to be POTUS.
“Being a felon is not a disqualification. So even crimes potentially far more serious than what is being alleged, potential mishandling of classified information, doesn’t stop somebody from seeking the presidency,” Hannity reiterated in his discussion of whether Trump, if convicted of a crime, could hold the nation’s highest office.
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What about other possible charges? There is another investigation underway to determine what role Trump had in the attempt to overturn the 2020 presidential election. Attorney GeneralMerrick Garlandsaid in July that the Department of Justice is conducting “the most wide-ranging investigation in its history” intothe events of and surrounding Jan. 6, 2021.
“We will hold accountable anyone who was criminally responsible for attempting to interfere with the transfer, legitimate, lawful transfer of power from one administration to the next,“Garland said at the time.
The Constitution’sDisqualification Clause, Section 3 of the 14th Amendment, states that no person “shall be a Senator or Representative in Congress, or elector of President and Vice-President, or hold any office, civil or military” who’d taken an oath to support the Constitution and later “engaged in insurrection or rebellion.”
That section, which was added after the Civil War, was cited in a lawsuit that sought tokeep Rep. Madison Cawthorn off the ballotin North Carolina after he spoke at a rally near the White House on Jan. 6. The plaintiffs' efforts were unsuccessful — butso was Cawthornin his state’s Republican primary.
Blocking Trump from running based on that section of the Constitution is considered a long shot,according to Politifact, even if he could be charged and convicted.
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A source close to the former president told PEOPLE a week ago that the FBI search of his home left Trump “furious yet scared” and, in the wake of unprecedented developments this month, considering his political calculations, including whether being a candidate or a second-term president could provide some protection.
“He is definitely making the moves to run but, in the end, I don’t think he will,” the Trump source said, “unless he is convinced criminal charges are coming.”
source: people.com
