How can Donald Trump run for president while under federal investigation? What to know
Former President Donald Trump has announced he’s running for president again while he remains the subject of two ongoing federal investigations.
The two Justice Department investigations — which have the potential to result in criminal charges against Trump — involve the FBI’s raid of his Mar-a-Lago home in Florida where they seized hundreds of classified documents taken from the White House and Trump’s involvement in trying to overturn the 2020 presidential election results, according to The Associated Press.
As of Nov. 16, no federal charges have been filed against Trump.
McClatchy News contacted the Justice Department for comment on Nov. 16 and was awaiting a response.
A spokesperson for Trump did not comment on the investigations but told McClatchy News in a statement that he “is running on a platform to stop the staggering economic decline of the past two years, the invasion of our southern border, and to defeat the establishment of both parties that have dragged us into endless wars and consistently put Americans last.“
How can a presidential candidate under federal investigation run?
After Trump’s announcement, one user asked in a widely reacted to Twitter post: How can the former president be “legally allowed to run for any government office let alone the presidency?” given the federal investigations.
Article II of the U.S. Constitution doesn’t list investigations, accusations and even convictions as means to prevent someone from running for president, according to the Bloomberg.
The Washington Post reports “plenty of political candidates have been investigated while they ran for office.”
But if Trump is convicted in connection with the Mar-a-Lago case, specifically on charges of taking government documents from the White House, a federal law could disqualify him from the presidency and holding any government office, as Bloomberg points out.
This law makes the destruction and removal of government records illegal.
It states “whoever, having the custody of any such record, proceeding, map, book, document, paper, or other thing, willfully and unlawfully conceals, removes, mutilates, obliterates, falsifies, or destroys the same, shall be fined under this title or imprisoned not more than three years, or both; and shall forfeit his office and be disqualified from holding any office under the United States.”
In a survey published by the COVID States project, most people in the U.S. who were surveyed, 51%, said they supported the FBI’s raid of Trump’s Mar-a-Lago home. Among the other respondents, 27% were not supportive of the search, while 22% had no opinion.
Meanwhile, during Trump’s announcement, he spoke out against the Justice Department and the FBI raid, arguing he has been made a “victim” by the agency.
He criticized the department for not raiding former opponent Hillary Clinton’s home when she was running for president while under federal investigation. The investigation involved her use of a private email server, according to the Justice Department’s Office of the Inspector General.
In the early 20th century, one man ran for president while in prison, according to the Zinn Education Project. Eugene V. Debs garnered 1 million votes while running for the Socialist Party in 1920.
Trump is also being investigated on the state level in Fulton County, Georgia, in connection with the 2020 election, according to AP.
Additionally, a House subcommittee established to investigate the Jan. 6 Capitol attack has tried to subpoena Trump to appear for a deposition. However, he “has failed to comply,” according to a Nov. 14 news release.
Can Trump’s run for president prevent charges?
Former federal prosecutor Renato Mariotti wrote Nov. 15 on Twitter that “the Justice Department opened a criminal investigation into Donald Trump even though he was the former president, a likely candidate, and the de facto leader of the Republican Party.”
“His announcement today changes nothing,” Mariotti added.
As PolitiFact reports, Trump running for president again will not prevent potential charges against him.
“Being a candidate gives Trump no legal protection from criminal prosecution for crimes committed during or after his presidency,” University of St. Thomas law professor Mark Osler told the outlet.
Maya Wiley, the president of the Leadership Conference on Civil and Human Rights, tweeted Nov. 15 that Hillary Clinton “was an announced candidate 4 POTUS. DOJ investigated her handling of emails. #Trump announcement doesn’t impact DOJ’s investigation into his handling of classified documents or role in #Jan6th. Fulton County GA DA can investigate a sitting POTUS if she chooses.”
New York Attorney General Letitia James is also suing Trump and the Trump Organization, accusing him of committing financial fraud for years.
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