Former president Donald Trump has testified in a $250 million civil lawsuit brought against him by the New York Attorney General’s office for fraud. The judge had already found in a pre-trial ruling that Trump had inflated his assets to get favorable terms from banks and insurance companies, and is now considering how much the billionaire and his co-accused will have to pay in damages.
This lawsuit, although financially damaging, is of a civil nature and would not involve jail time. This, however, is not the case for the other charges he is facing, which would throw him in prison if convicted. Since Trump is aspiring to go back to the White House next year, the question is, can he still run for the highest office in the land if he is goes to prison for any of the many crimes he has been accused of?
As it turns out, being arrested for or even convicted of a crime does not disqualify a person from running for the highest office in the United States. There is no particular law or constitutional provision that prohibits a convicted or arrested person from being a presidential candidate. In fact, if he ends up conducting his campaign from within prison walls, he wouldn’t be the first contender to do so. Five-time candidate Eugene Debs ran as the Socialist bet for president for the fifth and last time from a prison cell, and managed to get 3.4% of the vote.
Source: AS (This story has been edited by The Generation staff.)
