Trump Can Serve as President ‘From Prison,’ Alan Dershowitz Suggests
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Alan Dershowitz, the one-time impeachment lawyer for Donald Trump, said on Sunday that the former president will be able to get reelected in 2024 and run the country “from prison” if he is convicted.
Trump announced via a Truth Social post on Saturday morning that he believes he will be arrested on Tuesday, in connection to an investigation led by Manhattan District Attorney Alvin Bragg. Bragg’s office has been investigating Trump’s potential involvement in a 2016 scheme to pay adult film star Stormy Daniels $130,000 to not go public about an affair the two allegedly had. Recent moves by Bragg and his office have indicated to legal experts that he is nearing a historic criminal indictment for the former president. Trump, meanwhile, has denied the affair ever happened between him and Daniels, and has strongly criticized Bragg’s investigation.
Dershowitz is a veteran attorney with a reputation for representing controversial clients. In addition to providing legal services in various capacities over the years for the likes of O.J. Simpson, Jim Bakker, and Jeffrey Epstein, he also served on the legal team for Trump during his first impeachment trial in 2020. Since then, Dershowitz has continued speaking out publicly in support of the former president.
During a Sunday interview with the conservative news channel, Newsmax, Dershowitz said he expects Trump will be indicted and convicted in New York City because of what he viewed as the city’s unfair legal system. He also added that Trump can still run for president and even serve in office from prison if convicted.
“He will be indicted,” Dershowitz said. “In New York, you can indict a ham sandwich. In New York City, you can convict a ham sandwich because the jury pool is so unfair. Even if he’s convicted, he can run for president. He can 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 he is indicted, with some legal experts saying that such a situation might embolden support from his base.
The U.S. Constitution does not bar convicted felons from pursuing or holding elected office, including the presidency. The 14th Amendment does, however, empower Congress to pass laws that bar individuals who participated in an insurrection against the country from holding office, though some have said that there is room for Trump to fight that possibility.
The Department of Justice (DOJ) is currently investigating the former president’s part in fomenting the January 6, 2021, Capitol riot based on criminal referrals from the House select committee last year, with one of them being for a charge of “inciting, assisting or aiding and comforting an insurrection.”
Newsweek reached out to Trump’s communications team via email for comment.
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