Not since Eugene V. Debs campaigned from a prison cell more than a century ago has the United States experienced what is now happening: a prominent candidate with felony convictions running for president. And never before has that candidate been someone with a real chance of winning.
A Manhattan jury convicted former President Donald J. Trump on Thursday of falsifying business records to cover up a hush-money payment to a porn star. He has been charged with dozens of other felonies across three additional cases: two federal and one in Georgia.
For now, he faces no formal campaign restrictions, and he remains highly competitive in polls. But his sentencing on the New York convictions is approaching, on July 11, the other cases are still looming, and the Constitution and U.S. law have clear answers for only some of the questions that have arisen and may still arise.
Others could bring the country into truly uncharted territory, with huge decisions resting in the hands of federal judges.
Here is what we know, and what we don’t know.
Can Trump still run after his conviction?
This is the simplest question of the bunch. The answer is yes.
The Constitution sets very few eligibility requirements for presidents. They must be at least 35 years old, be “natural born” citizens and have lived in the United States for at least 14 years.