Former President Donald Trump has been found guilty of sexual abuse by a Manhattan federal jury, in the case of Elle magazine columnist E Jean Carroll. While he was not found guilty of rape, he has been ordered to pay Ms Carroll $5m in damages for battery and defamation.
The verdict marks Mr Trump’s second brush with criminal charges; he is also facing charges of falsifying business records in order to conceal an alleged scheme to illegally influence the 2016 election.
Despite these charges, there is no constitutional restriction against anyone under indictment, conviction or even serving a prison sentence running for president or winning the presidency. If he were to win, there is no explanation in the Constitution for what should occur, although charges brought by federal authorities would likely be dropped due to the Department of Justice’s refusal to prosecute a sitting president.
State-level charges such as those being filed by the Manhattan District Attorney fall outside Mr Trump’s pardon power and, were they to conclude in a conviction, would likely lead to a legal battle to determine whether he could avoid serving time in jail.
If Mr Trump were unable to avoid prison time, it would almost certainly lead to his impeachment or removal via the 25th Amendment
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