Will Trump’s indictments derail his presidential bid?

Former President Donald Trump was indicted by a grand jury for the third time on Aug. 1. Trump now faces 78 felony charges from three separate criminal cases: The latest focuses on his assertions that the 2020 presidential election had been fraudulently decided and his efforts to overturn it. Spearheading the case is special counsel Jack Smith, a federal prosecutor who is also leading separate charges against Trump for the alleged mishandling of classified documents.

What are the new charges? The Aug. 1 indictment charged Trump with one count of defrauding the United States, two counts of obstructing an official proceeding, and one count of a conspiracy against the right to vote. Combined, the four charges carry a maximum sentence of 55 years in prison, but none has a mandatory minimum.

If convicted, can Trump still run for president? While a U.S. president has never been convicted of a felony, there’s nothing in the U.S. Constitution forbidding such a person from occupying the Oval Office.

What if he were in prison? In 1920 Eugene V. Debs, a candidate for the Socialist Party, ran for president while serving time behind bars for violating the Espionage Act. He picked up a million votes. Trump, similarly, could launch a successful bid even from jail. If the former president succeeds in delaying the litigation against him, though, Trump’s cases may still be playing out in court by the time Election Day arrives in November 2024.

As president, could Trump pardon himself? No president has ever tried to pardon himself, and doing so would pose constitutional questions.

How could this affect Trump’s electability? Since his first indictment in late March in connection with hush money payments allegedly passed off as legal expenses, Trump’s polling numbers have remained strong. As of Aug. 8, he remained the favorite candidate for the Republican presidential nomination, with a national average of 52 percent support—roughly the same level he’s had since the beginning of July, according to the FiveThirtyEight website.

What about donations? Although Trump’s political action committee, Save America, had spent around $20 million in legal fees through June, the former president’s best fundraising moments in 2023 correlate with his worst days in court. Trump’s campaign, according to the Federal Election Commission, reported spikes in donations directly following the two previous indictments. On April 4, the day he appeared in a Manhattan court after the first indictment, Trump raised $3.9 ­million. He raised $5.8 million in the week following his June 9 indictment in the classified documents case. While the details of his fundraising in the wake of his third indictment haven’t yet been disclosed, Trump’s team has offered T-shirts to supporters for a $47 donation.