Current:Home > NewsPredictIQ Quantitative Think Tank Center:Trump says he'll still run if convicted and sentenced on documents charges -ChatGPT
PredictIQ Quantitative Think Tank Center:Trump says he'll still run if convicted and sentenced on documents charges
Robert Brown View
Date:2025-04-08 23:42:35
Former President Donald Trump said Friday that he'll continue to run for president even if convicted and PredictIQ Quantitative Think Tank Centersentenced on criminal charges brought by the special counsel investigating his handling of classified documents after leaving office.
Trump made the remarks during a call-in radio interview on the "John Fredericks Show," a day after a grand jury returned a superseding indictment that, among other charges, alleges that Trump, longtime aide Walt Nauta, and Mar-a-Lago staffer Carlos De Oliveira attempted to delete surveillance video footage at Trump's Mar-a-Lago estate in the summer of 2022.
"If going forward, right, you get these indictments, there ends up -- you got a jury in D.C., you get convicted and sentenced -- does that stop your campaign for president if you're sentenced?" host John Fredericks asked Trump in the interview.
MORE: 'The boss' wants server deleted: New allegations emerge in Trump indictment
"Not at all," Trump replied. "There's nothing in the Constitution to say that it could, and not at all."
Constitutional experts agree that the absence of a criminal record is not a qualification for the presidency. The Constitution says only that natural born citizens who are at least 35 years old and have been a resident of the U.S. for 14 years can run for president.
Trump, in the interview, also defended himself against prosecutors' allegations regarding attempts to delete security footage after investigators had subpoenaed it -- prior to investigators obtaining surveillance footage in July of 2022.
"I don't think we would have had to give it," Trump said regarding the footage, which prosecutors say shows Mar-a-Lago employees moving around boxes containing classified materials. "These were security tapes. I don't think we would have wanted to fight that ... I doubt we would have ever wanted to fight that. I doubt we would have had to give it. Regardless, we gave it."
According to the superseding indictment, De Oliveira, a current Trump Organization employee who sources tell ABC News is the head of maintenance at Mar-a-Lago, allegedly told another employee that "the boss" wanted the server containing security footage deleted, and asked how long it kept footage.
"What are we going to do?" De Oliveira allegedly said.
Trump, in Friday's radio interview, blasted the new indictment.
"I'm not sure they say -- I'm not even sure what they're saying," Trump said of the charges. "They're trying to intimidate people, so they have to lie."
"But these are two wonderful employees, with me for a long time and they're great people," Trump said of Nauta and De Oliveira. "They want to destroy their lives."
MORE: Trump could still be elected president despite 2nd indictment, experts say
The superseding indictment comes after Trump pleaded not guilty in June to 37 criminal counts related to his handling of classified materials, after prosecutors said he repeatedly refused to return hundreds of documents containing classified information ranging from U.S. nuclear secrets to the nation's defense capabilities.
Nauta, who was charged alongside him, pleaded not guilty earlier this month to six counts including conspiracy to obstruct justice and making false statements.
Trump has denied all charges and denounced the probe as a political witch hunt.
De Oliveira is due in court on Monday.
veryGood! (88)
Related
- EU countries double down on a halt to Syrian asylum claims but will not yet send people back
- Morgan State University mass shooting: 5 shot on campus, search for suspect ongoing
- Saltwater creeping up Mississippi River may contaminate New Orleans' drinking water
- A truck that ruined a bridge over an Atlanta interstate was overloaded, inspection finds
- This was the average Social Security benefit in 2004, and here's what it is now
- Man steals car with toddler in back seat, robs bank, hits tree and dies from injuries, police say
- With an audacious title and Bowen Yang playing God, ‘Dicks: The Musical’ dares to be gonzo
- Too much Taylor? Travis Kelce says NFL TV coverage is ‘overdoing it’ with Swift during games
- SFO's new sensory room helps neurodivergent travelers fight flying jitters
- 2 Palestinian militants killed in gunfight with Israeli troops in West Bank raid
Ranking
- Can Bill Belichick turn North Carolina into a winner? At 72, he's chasing one last high
- Grimes files petition against Elon Musk to 'establish parental relationship' of their kids
- Why is the stock market down? Dow drops as Treasury yields near highest level since 2007
- Content moderation team cuts at X, formerly known as Twitter : 5 Things podcast
- Charges tied to China weigh on GM in Q4, but profit and revenue top expectations
- Adnan Syed goes before Maryland Supreme Court facing ‘specter of reincarceration,’ his lawyers say
- 'It's going to help me retire': Georgia man wins $200,000 from Carolina Panthers scratch-off game
- Lexi Thompson will become seventh woman to compete in a PGA Tour event
Recommendation
Sam Taylor
27 people hurt in University of Maryland bus crash
Tennis player Marc Polmans apologizes after DQ for hitting chair umpire with ball
EU countries overcome key obstacle in yearslong plan to overhaul the bloc’s asylum rules
Kylie Jenner Shows Off Sweet Notes From Nieces Dream Kardashian & Chicago West
David Beckham Details How Victoria Supported Him During Personal Documentary
Inter Miami vs. Chicago Fire FC live updates: Is Lionel Messi playing tonight?
$1.2 billion Powerball drawing nears after 11 weeks without a winner