YES, TRUMP CAN STILL BE PRESIDENT AS A CONVICTED FELON

By Kathryn Watson
CBS News, Various Sources

Former President Trump's New York felony conviction Thursday on 34 counts of falsifying business records related to a "hush money" payment to adult film star Stormy Daniels can't stop him from becoming president if the voters put him back in office, legal scholars seem to agree.

The Constitution imposes very few prerequisites for the presidency — a candidate must be at least 35 years of age, a natural-born citizen and a U.S. resident for a minimum of 14 years. It says nothing about the impact of a felony conviction on a president's ability to serve. 

"The short answer is yes, that there's no constitutional bar," said Corey Brettschneider, a lawyer and professor of political science at Brown University and author of "The Presidents and the People." "The Constitution lays out some specific requirements of what's required … but there's nothing explicitly in the Constitution about being convicted of a crime as a disqualification."

"There's a wide understanding that the qualifications listed in the Constitution are exclusive — that is, we can't add to those qualifications," said Derek Muller, an election law professor at the University of Notre Dame. He added, "Whether or not you've been convicted of a felony is immaterial for qualification purposes."

Jessica Levinson, a constitutional law professor at Loyola University and a CBS News contributor, stated plainly: "The Constitution does not have any prohibition on serving as president if you're a convicted felon."

THE ISURRECTION CLAUSE OF THE 14TH AMENDMENT?

Some states have tried to disqualify Trump under the 14th Amendment's insurrection clause in the wake of the Jan. 6, 2021, U.S. Capitol assault. 

Last December, the Colorado Supreme Court allowed Trump to be removed from the primary ballot over 14th Amendment concerns, due to his conduct surrounding Jan. 6. The amendment's insurrection clause, the court found, bars insurrectionists who have previously taken an oath to support the Constitution from holding public office.

But the U.S. Supreme Court reversed the ruling in March, finding that Trump had to be restored to the ballot because only Congress can enforce the insurrection clause. The high court's ruling resolved challenges to Trump's eligibility for office pursued by voters in several other states.

"Absent a [new] statute that lays out that disqualification, it isn't a bar,'" Brettschneider said.

THE FOUNDING FATHERS WERE GUILTY OF TREASON, A FELONY, AND COULD BE HUNG ON SIGHT, YET SEVERAL WENT ON TO BECOME PRESIDENT. 

The founding fathers and those colonists were declared traitors for rebelling against the Crown. Had Britain won the war, all of them would have been treated as felons guilty of treason and hung. 

"A rebellion is always legal in the first person, such as ‘our rebellion.’ It is only in the third person - ‘their rebellion’ - that it becomes illegal.” - Benjamin Franklin

According to England, the Declaration of Independence was a declaration of treason. If England had won the American Revolution, then those who fought against the crown and the members of the Continental Congress were summarily considered traitors to be hung on sight.

Plainly, from the words of the Founders at the official signing of the parchment copy on 2 August 1776, they knew they were engaging in treason. President of Congress, John Hancock signed his name and declared, “There must be no pulling different ways. We must all hang together.”

Franklin replied: “Yes, we must, indeed, all hang together, or most assuredly we shall all hang separately.”

Therefore historians say, they did not include a prohibition in the  Constitution against convicted felons seeking office in the Congress or as presidents.