Thursday, August 03, 2023

Convicted criminal could still be President of the USA

Donald Trump, or anyone else for that matter, can still stand for the US presidency if indicted, or even convicted, of criminal acts. He could even serve out the Presidency from prison. That is the law of the land, the land of the free and all that. And that is in spite of the fact that, in most states, criminals cannot even vote.

Shouldn't that be fixed?

I hadn't realized it, but even in Canada, an MP can still serve in Parliament with a criminal record, in the same way as a convicted criminal can still vote, although that right is removed if the MP is sentenced to a period of at least two years. Potentially, therefore, even a Prime Minister could serve with a criminal record, although in practice it is very unlikely such an person would be voted leader of a party, even if elected as an MP. 

In Canada, an MP (or a PM) could continue in office even if convicted of a crime, but again in practice he or she would be under intense pressure to step down under the prevailing honour system.

I'm not sure there is any honour in American politics.

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