Sean Hannity, an old friend of Donald Trump’s who accordingly has his back as much or moreso than anyone on Fox News or anywhere else, posed a premise Monday that could set the table for a constitutional crisis should Trump be convicted of a felony and run for the presidency in 2024 anyway.
Hannity speaking on Premiere Radio Network’s “The Sean Hannity Show,”He pointed out that felons are not prohibited from holding the presidency. The Constitution also limits the eligibility for the office to those born in the United States or at least 35.
“Being a felon is not a disqualification,”Hannity said. “So even crimes potentially far more serious than what is being alleged, potential mishandling of classified information, doesn’t stop somebody from seeking the presidency.”
Hannity, perhaps forgetting that voters would or should be highly influenced if a presidential candidate was indeed a convicted felon, pointed out — correctly, According to Poynter Institute — that federal law does prohibit a felon from “holding office in the United States.”
“And if they’re — if they think that they’re going to somehow make this about Donald Trump and prevent him from running from office, well they obviously have not read something called the Constitution,”Hannity said. “Because the Constitution is pretty clear on what qualifies one to be able to run for president.
“In other words, OK, even if Section 2071 in the federal penal code has penalty provisions upon the conviction that a defendant shall forfeit his office and be disqualified from holding any office under the United States,”Hannity went on. “OK, but we do have something called the Constitution. And the qualifications for one to be president of the United States that is very clear and enumerated. And you can’t alter it by any statute precisely because our framers in their wisdom didn’t want the executive branch dominated by the legislature, as would happen if Congress could disqualify any incumbent or potential president simply by passing a law.”
Trump’s Mar-a-Lago estate, which was raided last Monday by the FBI, is being investigated for possible violations to the Espionage Act related to the mishandling national defense information or classified material. Federal agents confiscated 11 sets of classified documents from Trump’s Florida resort. Some were marked as “top secret” and others meant to be available only in special government facilities – not a former president’s home.
Hannity stated that someone could not run for office if they were impeached. Trump was impeached twice by the U.S. House. He was not convicted by the Senate both times.
“Again, that’s prescribed by the Constitution. You can’t change that by a mere statute. So I’m not sure exactly where they’re headed with all of this,”Hannity said.
Benjamin Lindsay contributed to this article.
