New York's Wall Street Journal explains Trump's conviction and consequences

Friday, 31 May 2024

You won't be laughing for long Joe.

Can Donald Trump still run for President? The hush-money verdict explained

• By JACOB GERSHMAN
• 10:45AM MAY 31, 2024

The hush-money case against Donald Trump is heading into more uncharted territory after a 12-person jury found him guilty of 34 charges of falsifying business records. The first former president to face a criminal trial is now the first to be convicted of a felony. The big questions now are Trump’s potential sentence and whether he can overturn the verdict on appeal. Here’s a look at the potential path ahead.

Could Trump go to jail? What other punishments are possible?

It is possible, though perhaps not likely, that Trump could be sentenced to time behind bars. The felony counts carry a sentence of up to four years in prison, and Justice Juan Merchan, the judge presiding over the trial, has broad discretion to impose a harsher punishment.

But there are factors favoring no jail time. Trump is a 77-year-old first-time offender convicted of a low-level, nonviolent crime. The practicalities and precedent of locking up a former president also might give the judge pause. Merchan can make Trump pay a fine or condition his freedom on Trump staying out of criminal trouble. Even if he’s sentenced to incarceration, Trump can ask the judge or an appellate court for bail pending appeal to keep him out of custody while he challenges his conviction. If Trump is elected president, he almost certainly would stay out of custody while in office, to prevent interference with his official duties.

When will he be sentenced?

The judge set a sentencing hearing for July 11, just days ahead of the Republican National Convention. In the meantime, probation officers must complete an advisory presentencing report and submit it to the judge before the hearing. Trump will also get the chance to gather character letters from friends, family members and colleagues to guide the judge’s determination.

Can Trump still run for president with a felony conviction?

Yes. Nothing in the U.S. Constitution bars a felon from running or becoming president. There could be political consequences for Trump, but the conviction isn’t disqualifying.

Can Trump appeal? How would that process work?

Trump is almost certain to appeal the verdict to a state appeals court in Manhattan. Criminal defense lawyers say Trump has several potential arguments for overturning his conviction, though none are guaranteed to succeed.

He could argue that he was improperly prosecuted in state court and that Merchan lacked jurisdiction over the case. Trump could also claim that the prosecution’s case was so vague on the specific allegations against him that he couldn’t adequately prepare a defense.

Trump’s legal team might also point to porn actress Stormy Daniels’s testimony as grounds to throw out the verdict, based on the argument that some of the details she offered about her alleged sexual encounter with Trump in 2006 were unnecessary and colored jurors’ view of Trump unfairly.

How long could the appeals process take?

The appeal could take more than a year to resolve and potentially draw in a higher state court or even the U.S. Supreme Court. If Trump manages to persuade an appeals court to throw out the verdict, that will likely happen after the presidential election is decided.

What other trials could Trump face?

Trump is also contending with three other criminal cases—two federal ones and a prosecution in Georgia—dealing with claims of election subversion and his handling of classified documents after leaving the White House. A pending Supreme Court case over presidential immunity and an ethics controversy surrounding the local prosecutor in Georgia have slowed down some of the proceedings, none of which may go to trial before the November vote.

Could Trump pardon himself?

A president can pardon federal offenses—arguably even ones he committed. But that pardon power doesn’t apply to state convictions. So even if he reclaims the White House, Trump couldn’t just erase his New York conviction with a stroke of a pen. The governor of New York could grant Trump a pardon, but that is an unlikely scenario in the Democratic-led blue state.

The Wall Street Journal