Trump is now a convicted felon. He can still run for president

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CNN —

Now that a New York jury has convicted former President Donald Trump of all 34 felony charges of falsifying business records, the next obvious question is: Can a convicted felon run for president?

Definitely.

A further question is more complicated: Could Trump, as a felon, vote for himself? Probably.

Starting with the easy question …

Can a convict run for president?

The US Constitution lays out just three requirements for presidential candidates. They must:

• Be a natural born citizen.
• Be at least 35 years old.
• Have been a US resident for at least 14 years.

Trump meets all three requirements. There is, arguably, another criterion laid out in the 14th Amendment, where it states that no one who has previously taken an oath of office who engages in insurrection can be an officer of the US. But the US Supreme Court ruled earlier this year that Congress would have to pass a special law invoking this prohibition. That’s not happening any time soon.

Judge Juan Merchan has scheduled Trump’s sentencing for July 11, which happens to be four days before the start of the Republican National Convention that is scheduled to take place in Milwaukee.

It is technically possible, although perhaps unlikely for a first-time offender, that Trump could be sentenced to prison time.

Former President Donald Trump reacts as the verdict is read in his criminal trial over charges that he falsified business records on Thursday in New York.

CNN senior legal analyst Elie Honig said most Class E felony convictions, the least serious type of felony in New York, result in non-prison sentences – often a combination of