A Manhattan jury is set to begin deliberations on Wednesday in the historic hush money trial of Donald Trump. Here’s what could happen if Trump is convicted.
Trump, 77, the first U.S. president to stand trial on a criminal charge, is charged with 34 counts of falsifying business records related to allegations that he paid hush money to porn star Stormy Daniels to silence her allegations of a one-night stand with the married Trump ahead of the 2016 presidential election.
Each charge the 45th president faces carries a maximum penalty of four years in prison.
Could Trump go to prison?
In theory, although highly unlikely, Trump could be convicted of all charges and face up to 136 years in prison if sentenced to consecutive terms.
However, it is far more likely that all 34 charges will be sentenced concurrently, meaning the maximum sentence he will receive will likely be four years in prison.
But it’s possible the judge won’t sentence him to any prison time.
It is also unclear whether prosecutors from Manhattan District Attorney Alvin Bragg’s office will seek prison time because he has been charged with a nonviolent crime and has not been convicted of any other crime.
Can Trump pardon himself?
The presumptive Republican presidential nominee would not be able to pardon himself for the conviction in the case if he is re-elected to become the 47th president because the case is a state, not federal, law.
The real estate mogul would face similar restrictions if he is convicted in Georgia’s election fraud case and re-elected because he would be charged with violating state law, not federal law.
He faces two additional criminal cases in federal court for allegedly mishandling classified documents and conspiring to overturn the results of the 2020 election, but could theoretically pardon himself.
He could also order the Justice Department to drop the federal violations, but such an action would very likely face legal challenges.
Could Trump still run for president?
Trump would still be able to run for president if convicted, but it is unclear what impact a conviction would have on voters.
Trump previously joked that his supporters are so loyal that “I could stand in the middle of Fifth Avenue and shoot somebody and not lose any voters.”
However, the U.S. Constitution has surprisingly few restrictions on who can serve as president, beyond being over 35 and a “natural-born” U.S. citizen.
