# Appropriate punishment for Trump? **URL:** \ **Category:** Politics & Elections\ **Tags:** trump\ **Created:** [August 31, 2022, 8:49pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/appropriate-punishment-for-trump/970673 "2022-08-31T20:49:58Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 20\ **Page:** 4
**Author:** ![Whack-a-Mole](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/whack-a-mole/32/141_2.png) [@Whack-a-Mole](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Whack-a-Mole)\ **Post date:** [September 1, 2022, 5:06am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/appropriate-punishment-for-trump/970673/61 "2022-09-01T05:06:34Z")
> [@JohnT](#): > > The Constitution is not a suicide pact, and any arguments that a person convicted of these statutes, including espionage, can still be elected President, while fun in theory and on message boards, won’t go further than that. Legal scholars disagree with you: Full title: **Here’s how Donald Trump could theoretically run for president and govern the US from prison, according to 9 legal scholars** > **[Here's how Donald Trump could theoretically run for president in 2024 from...](https://www.businessinsider.com/can-trump-run-for-president-from-prison-jail-2024-2021-5)** > > Former President Donald Trump is running for the White House again in 2024. Legal experts say he can run — and maybe even run the country — if he's in prison. Consider what would happen if people you do not agree with get power and pass laws barring you from public office. I have no love for Trump but it is the same thing. ---
**Author:** ![JohnT](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/johnt/32/15048_2.png) [@JohnT](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/JohnT)\ **Post date:** [September 1, 2022, 5:15am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/appropriate-punishment-for-trump/970673/62 "2022-09-01T05:15:07Z")
Bully for them. It would still cause the collapse of the country if we are so stupid as to allow such a thing to pass. ---
**Author:** ![Roger\_That](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/roger_that/32/8505_2.png) [@Roger\_That](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Roger_That)\ **Post date:** [September 1, 2022, 5:21am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/appropriate-punishment-for-trump/970673/63 "2022-09-01T05:21:42Z")
Despite what Business Insider magazine’s experts have to say, I distinctly recall that there is an amendment to the constitution declaring that someone convicted of insurrection against the federal government is ineligible to run for federal office. “Being in prison” is one thing–Trump could be in prison for any number of things, and quite possibly will, and still be eligible to run for office, as Business Insider says–but being in prison for attempting an insurrection is addressed in this amendment is another. Unless of course I’ve lost my mind and have just invented this amendment to the constitution. edited to add: [https://twitter.com/tribelaw/status/1564963082354524161](https://twitter.com/tribelaw/status/1564963082354524161) ---
**Author:** ![Son\_of\_a\_Rich](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/son_of_a_rich/32/5439_2.png) [@Son\_of\_a\_Rich](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Son_of_a_Rich)\ **Post date:** [September 1, 2022, 5:28am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/appropriate-punishment-for-trump/970673/64 "2022-09-01T05:28:51Z")
There was an old Tarzan movie in which the natives had two tall thin trees close to each other, and with great effort they pulled the tops of the trees down until they crossed in an X close to the ground. They tied their prisoner’s legs to the trees, and then cut the ropes. Maybe that movie will play wherever he is, and he’ll realize he got off easy. ---
**Author:** ![Whack-a-Mole](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/whack-a-mole/32/141_2.png) [@Whack-a-Mole](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Whack-a-Mole)\ **Post date:** [September 1, 2022, 5:31am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/appropriate-punishment-for-trump/970673/65 "2022-09-01T05:31:03Z")
I believe “federal office” is not the same thing as president or congress-person. So, a convicted Trump could not become Secretary of the Interior. But, he could still become president or a congress-critter. ---
**Author:** ![Ann\_Hedonia](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/ann_hedonia/32/319_2.png) [@Ann\_Hedonia](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Ann_Hedonia)\ **Post date:** [September 1, 2022, 5:33am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/appropriate-punishment-for-trump/970673/66 "2022-09-01T05:33:30Z")
> [@Horatius](#): > > I could see Putin announcing, “Yeah, he sold me secrets!”, just to fuck with the US even more. If it goes to trial, Trump likely never becomes president again, but he can still be used as a propaganda tool to sow dissent among the MAGA crowd. He has, sort of. Russian State TV didn’t come out and say they got them from Trump, but they said they had them. They’re trolling, of course……or are they? > **[Moscow Already 'Studying' Top-Secret Records From Trump Raid: Russian Media](https://www.newsweek.com/moscow-already-studying-top-secret-records-trump-raid-russian-media-1733440)** > > "What's the point of searching?" a Russian television host asked, suggesting the Kremlin had already reviewed the documents. As to punishment, we still don’t know the extent of the crime. I think the biggest factor will be if the documents, or the classified information contained in them, was conveyed to a third party. It may also matter if he actually tried to conceal the documents. ---
**Author:** ![Roger\_That](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/roger_that/32/8505_2.png) [@Roger\_That](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Roger_That)\ **Post date:** [September 1, 2022, 5:34am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/appropriate-punishment-for-trump/970673/67 "2022-09-01T05:34:30Z")
If you look at Lawrence Tribe’s tweet that I just added to my previous post, you’ll see that the language refers to "18 U.S. C. § 2071, a crime that purports to ‘bar anyone from ever again holding a political office in the United States.’ ” ---
**Author:** ![D\_Anconia](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/67e7ee/32.png) [@D\_Anconia](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/D_Anconia)\ **Post date:** [September 1, 2022, 5:38am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/appropriate-punishment-for-trump/970673/68 "2022-09-01T05:38:18Z")
Which of the 27 Amendments would that be? ---
**Author:** ![Whack-a-Mole](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/whack-a-mole/32/141_2.png) [@Whack-a-Mole](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Whack-a-Mole)\ **Post date:** [September 1, 2022, 5:38am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/appropriate-punishment-for-trump/970673/69 "2022-09-01T05:38:24Z")
> [Justice Oliver Wendell Holmes Jr.](https://mtsu.edu/first-amendment/article/1337/oliver-wendell-holmes-jr) authored the unanimous Supreme Court decision in [Debs v. United States, 249 U.S. 211 (1919)](https://www.thefire.org/first-amendment-library/decision/debs-v-united-states/), sustaining socialist leader [Eugene V. Debs’s](https://mtsu.edu/first-amendment/article/1266/eugene-debs) conviction under the [Sedition Act of 1918](https://mtsu.edu/first-amendment/article/1239/sedition-act-of-1918). > > \< snip \> > > In 1920, while in prison, Debs again ran for President and received almost 1 million votes. > > [SOURCE](https://www.mtsu.edu/first-amendment/article/289/debs-v-united-states) ---
**Author:** ![Locrian](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/locrian/32/14146_2.png) [@Locrian](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Locrian)\ **Post date:** [September 1, 2022, 5:48am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/appropriate-punishment-for-trump/970673/70 "2022-09-01T05:48:48Z")
If jail time were issued (and I 100% doubt there will be any), Biden should pardon the jail time. As I said earlier, still hope the $20 billion fine is upheld. 😁 ---
**Author:** ![Roger\_That](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/roger_that/32/8505_2.png) [@Roger\_That](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Roger_That)\ **Post date:** [September 1, 2022, 5:50am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/appropriate-punishment-for-trump/970673/71 "2022-09-01T05:50:42Z")
Actually, you’re right. I thought it was a post-Civil War amendment that forbade Confederate officials from serving in the government because they had abettted treason and that could apply to Trump, but I see I’m mixing that up with the part of the Federal code that Tribe cites. ---
**Author:** ![Roger\_That](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/roger_that/32/8505_2.png) [@Roger\_That](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Roger_That)\ **Post date:** [September 1, 2022, 5:59am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/appropriate-punishment-for-trump/970673/72 "2022-09-01T05:59:04Z")
Just to be clear, you’re claiming that the Supreme court would declare “18 U.S. C. § 2071” unconstitutional if a candidate for POTUS were barred from office? If so, that seems a stretch to me. Seems to me “anyone” means “anyone.” ---
**Author:** ![Whack-a-Mole](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/whack-a-mole/32/141_2.png) [@Whack-a-Mole](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Whack-a-Mole)\ **Post date:** [September 1, 2022, 6:04am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/appropriate-punishment-for-trump/970673/73 "2022-09-01T06:04:07Z")
Yes. I am. Congress can say “anyone” all they want but lawmakers have no authority to override what the constitution says and the constitution is quite clear on this when it comes to who can be president or be in congress. If the lawmakers want to change that they need a constitutional amendment. Good luck with that. ---
**Author:** ![Roger\_That](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/roger_that/32/8505_2.png) [@Roger\_That](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Roger_That)\ **Post date:** [September 1, 2022, 6:10am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/appropriate-punishment-for-trump/970673/74 "2022-09-01T06:10:49Z")
17th Amendment, section 3: **No person shall** be a Senator or Representative in Congress, or elector of President and Vice-President, or **hold any office** , civil or military, under the United States, or under any State, **who, having previously taken an oath** , as a member of Congress, or **as an officer of the United States** , or as a member of any State legislature, or as an executive or judicial officer of any State, **to support the Constitution of the United States, shall have engaged in insurrection or rebellion against the same, or given aid or comfort to the enemies thereof.** But Congress may by a vote of two-thirds of each House, remove such disability. **Bolding mine**. ---
**Author:** ![Monty](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/monty/32/47_2.png) [@Monty](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Monty)\ **Post date:** [September 1, 2022, 6:16am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/appropriate-punishment-for-trump/970673/75 "2022-09-01T06:16:17Z")
Why should Biden pardon him? ---
**Author:** ![Whack-a-Mole](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/whack-a-mole/32/141_2.png) [@Whack-a-Mole](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Whack-a-Mole)\ **Post date:** [September 1, 2022, 6:25am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/appropriate-punishment-for-trump/970673/76 "2022-09-01T06:25:38Z")
That didn’t even stop most people after the Civil War from holding office (maybe no one was stopped…not 100% on that though). ---
**Author:** ![TriPolar](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/tripolar/32/3008_2.png) [@TriPolar](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/TriPolar)\ **Post date:** [September 1, 2022, 6:52am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/appropriate-punishment-for-trump/970673/77 "2022-09-01T06:52:53Z")
Because the next Republican president will do it anyway and say that it’s being done to resolve a great injustice. ---
**Author:** ![Spoons](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/spoons/32/3141_2.png) [@Spoons](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Spoons)\ **Post date:** [September 1, 2022, 7:00am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/appropriate-punishment-for-trump/970673/78 "2022-09-01T07:00:17Z")
> [@Dahnlor](#): > > This is what I’ve been imagining. Trump is convicted and sent to prison, but his sentence is carried out at a freshly converted Mar-a-Lago–the newest and greatest Club Fed ever of all time, privately owned and operated by The Trump Organization. > > I’d imagine he would be allowed to travel more than your typical white collar criminal, but it would at least be cool if he had to wear an ankle bracelet or something. That’s what I’m thinking: that if convicted, he would be restricted to the Mar-a-Lago residence grounds, with an ankle bracelet that would alert authorities if he stepped off them. He could enjoy the house and grounds all he liked, but the minute he steps off the property, he’s in trouble. And, if I understand correctly, the Mar-a-Lago golf course is not physically connected to the residence, so he would be unable to play golf; or go anywhere else off the property. Of course, he has staff to get him groceries and hamberders and Diet Coke, so he wouldn’t go hungry if he cannot leave the property. Oh, and no Internet access. He can have a landline telephone that makes and receives calls only, but not a smartphone or computer. His outgoing and incoming landline calls would, of course, be monitored in real time; and the connection would be broken if he strayed into topics that are inappropriate. No visitors, except for immediate family–Melania, Barron, Ivanka, etc.–but certainly no politicians or diplomats or leaders of other countries. It seems to me that that would punish and infuriate him more than any amount of time spent in a prison. Here he is, in the lap of luxury, but in a gilded cage, with the key word being “cage.” ---
**Author:** ![Monty](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/monty/32/47_2.png) [@Monty](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Monty)\ **Post date:** [September 1, 2022, 8:13am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/appropriate-punishment-for-trump/970673/79 "2022-09-01T08:13:44Z")
Then leave it for the next Republican president. If we’re lucky, that’ll be decades away and Trump will have spent serious time in prison. ---
**Author:** ![Roger\_That](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/roger_that/32/8505_2.png) [@Roger\_That](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Roger_That)\ **Post date:** [September 1, 2022, 8:59am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/appropriate-punishment-for-trump/970673/80 "2022-09-01T08:59:14Z")
> [@Spoons](#): > > He could enjoy the house and grounds all he liked This is what I’m questioning: why should “home confinement” include the entire house and grounds? Surely the terms of his confinement could restrict him to only a few rooms. And “staff to get him groceries”? Please. Why do prisoners get “staff”? He can be put on a budget for food (delivered by Ubereats) and anyone who helps him to evade that restriction can be subject to arrest. [Previous page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/appropriate-punishment-for-trump/970673.md?page=3) [Next page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/appropriate-punishment-for-trump/970673.md?page=5)