Trump can serve as president ‘from prison’, suggests Alan Dershowitz

Alan Dershowitz, Donald Trump’s former impeachment lawyer, said Sunday that the former president will be eligible for re-election in 2024 and lead the country “from prison” if convicted.

Trump announced Saturday morning via a message from Truth Social that he believed he would be arrested on Tuesday, as part of an investigation led by Manhattan District Attorney Alvin Bragg. Bragg’s office investigated Trump’s potential involvement in a 2016 scheme to pay adult film star Stormy Daniels $130,000 to not go public with an affair the two allegedly had. Recent moves by Bragg and his office have signaled to legal experts that he is nearing a landmark criminal indictment for the former president. Trump, meanwhile, denied the affair ever happened between him and Daniels and strongly criticized Bragg’s investigation.

Dershowitz is a seasoned attorney known for representing controversial clients. In addition to providing legal services in various capacities over the years for the likes of OJ Simpson, Jim Bakker and Jeffrey Epstein, he also served on Trump’s legal team during his first impeachment trial in 2020. Since then Dershowitz continued to talk. publicly in favor of the former president.

During a Sunday interview with conservative news channel Newsmax, Dershowitz said he expected Trump to be charged and sentenced in New York because of what he saw as the unfair legal system in the US. city. He also added that Trump can still run for president and even hold office from prison if convicted.

“He will be charged,” Dershowitz said. “In New York, you can indict a ham sandwich. In New York, you can convict a ham sandwich because the jury is so unfair. Even if he’s convicted, he can run for president. He can run for president. run for president from prison; he can even serve as president from prison.”

The former president has previously pledged to continue his 2024 presidential campaign even if indicted, with some legal experts saying such a situation could embolden his base’s support.

The United States Constitution does not prohibit convicted felons from pursuing or holding elected office, including the presidency. The 14th Amendment, however, empowers Congress to pass laws barring people who have participated in an insurrection against the country from holding office, though some have said Trump has room to fight that possibility.

The Department of Justice (DOJ) is currently investigating the former president’s role in fomenting the Jan. 6, 2021 Capitol riot based on criminal referrals from the House Select Committee last year, the one of them being for a charge of “inciting, aiding or aiding and abetting an insurrection.

Newsweek contacted Trump’s communications team by email for comment.