Donald Trump will still be able to run for 2024 presidential candidacy, despite the verdict in E. Jean Carroll’s case against the former president. Trump was found by a jury to have sexually abused the magazine writer and defamed her, and has been ordered to pay her $5 million in damages.
Firstly, it is a civil case – during the 2016 campaign, Trump faced lots of civil action, including fraud cases involving Trump University.
Those cases were settled quickly following his election, with no impact on the requirements for the presidency in the Constitution.
However the former president faces unrelated criminal exposure too, most notably in the case that have been brought against him by Manhattan prosecutors for alleged hush money payments to women that have claimed extramarital affairs with him.
Read more: Fans ‘wonder how Melania’s feeling’ as Trump is found liable for sexual abuse
Trump additionally faces federal criminal investigation, including one case regarding the mishandling of documents from his White House and another concerning the efforts to interrupt Congress’ 2020 election certification, are also closing in on him, as well as an Atlanta-based probe into the election subversion plots.
CNN reports that successful criminal prosecution of Trump is unlikely to impact his ability to be re-elected to the White House from a legal view. Convicted felons running for federal office is not new, even for the office of the presidency.
Eugene Debs, a regular socialist candidate for the White House early in the 20th century, was imprisoned for espionage when he received over 900,000 votes in the 1920 presidential campaign.
While the New York jury decided on Tuesday night (May 9) that Trump sexually abused Carroll, the claim that the former president raped her was rejected. The verdict is yet another legal setback for Trump as he runs for the 2024 Republican presidential nomination.
He said on his Truth Social app: “I have absolutely no idea who this woman is,” and added that the ruling was a “disgrace” and “the greatest witch hunt of all time”.
