Legal Expert Tells Us Donald Trump's Sentence Could Create Logistical Nightmare If Re-Elected
Donald Trump was found guilty of 34 counts of falsifying business records in New York in connection with paying hush money to women that he allegedly had affairs with. He faces sentencing on July 11, 2024, where he could be required to serve up to four years in prison. That's just four days before the Republican National Convention, where Trump will presumably be confirmed as the Republican nominee for president. It is truly an unprecedented situation. To help make sense of it, The List spoke exclusively with former federal prosecutor Neama Rahmani, President of West Coast Trial Lawyers, for his take on what would happen if Trump gets re-elected, considering that he could be under house arrest or even in jail.
It turns out, there's not really that much that prevents a felon or even someone actively serving time in prison from being elected president. "Trump can be president from prison," Rahmain explained. "The Constitution's only requirements are that he be 35 years old, born in the United States, and not have engaged in an insurrection." However, to put it mildly, it would be a hassle.
Donald Trump would need Secret Service protection while incarcerated
Neama Rahmani's point about insurrection being a disqualifying presidential seems to be in reference to the 14th Amendment, and it's not one that would be related to Donald Trump's New York felony charges. It could seem that it's connected to the federal charges against Trump related to the January 6 attack on the U.S. Capitol. However, he faces charges of conspiracy and obstruction, not of insurrection, over the attack. The U.S. Supreme Court has already ruled in Trump's favor as well, decreeing that individual states cannot remove him from their ballots using the 14th Amendment and Trump's behavior related to January 6 as justification.
So there isn't any constitutional reason that would stop Trump from being elected and serving as president while being in jail or under house arrest. That means there's a very real possibility that a convicted felon could be elected president, leaving legal experts like Rahmani considering what that would mean for the practicalities of his presidency. If he was in prison, "Trump would have Secret Service protection and would be separated from the general population," Rahmani exclusively told us. "Logistically, it would be a nightmare."
Presidents get Secret Service protection for life. So with any type of incarceration, there would still have to be security contingencies in place for Trump as a former president, even if he's not the current one.
The judge in Donald Trump's case is facing a daunting task
Juan Merchan, the presiding judge in Trump's hush money case, is surely considering the ramifications of all sentencing options. In our exclusive interview, Neama Rahmani told The List about one of the options that's available to Merchan: "If Trump was sentenced to home confinement, he could serve it where his primary residence is. Judge Juan Merchan would set the terms of his sentence." Trump currently lives at Mar-a-Lago, but if he were to be elected president, the White House would seemingly become his primary residence.
A sitting U.S. president under house arrest in the White House? Or presiding from behind bars? The answers to those never-before considered questions could be enough to potentially sway Judge Merchan's mind. "It would be highly problematic for Trump to be sentenced to home confinement and [be] president," Rahmani explained. "Jail or prison isn't a real possibility."
Judge Merchan could instead choose to sentence Trump with probation, community service, or fines. Some of that may depend on how things go during the pre-sentencing investigation where Trump will have to speak with an officer of the court who will then get to make recommendations on the sentence. The defense and prosecution will also get to submit what they think should happen to Trump in the wake of his guilty verdict. Whatever the sentence is, it might not actually start until all his appeals are exhausted, and Trump is planning to appeal.