Explained: Can Donald Trump still run for 2024 US presidential polls?

Former US President Donald Trump is scheduled to be arraigned at a Manhattan courthouse on Tuesday following his indictment on criminal charges after a probe into hush money paid to a porn star.

The frontrunner to be the Republican nominee in 2024 has denied any wrongdoing and has repeatedly assailed the investigation. He called the indictment “political persecution” and predicted it would damage Democrats in 2024.

Trump's lawyers have said the former president “did not commit any crime. We will vigorously fight this political prosecution in court.”

An indictment is a court document containing charges that were voted on by a grand jury, a group of people who decide whether a prosecutor has enough evidence to pursue criminal charges. Following indictment, a defendant is given formal notice of the charges, a right enshrined in the Fifth Amendment of the US Constitution.

What are the charges against Trump? 

Donald Trump was indicted last week, becoming the first sitting or former president to face criminal charges, over a case involving a 2016 hush money payment to porn star Stormy Daniels. He has said he is innocent and is due to plead not guilty.

The Manhattan grand jury that indicted Trump heard evidence for months this year about a $130,000 payment to adult film actress Stormy Daniels in the waning days of the 2016 presidential campaign, Reuters reported. 

Daniels has said she was paid to keep silent about a sexual encounter she had with Trump at a Lake Tahoe hotel in 2006. Trump denies having had any such relationship with her.

The former US President also faces a separate criminal probe into whether he unlawfully tried to overturn his 2020 election defeat in Georgia and two investigations by a special counsel including over his handling of classified documents after leaving office.

Will Trump be arrested? 

According to AFP, when he's fingerprinted and processed, he's considered under arrest and in custody. But it won't look like what it does in the movies or on TV's “Law & Order.”

He won't be handcuffed and he won't sit in a jail cell, in part because parts of the courthouse will be cleared out for his arraignment — and because Trump is a former president with Secret Service protection.

Not all defendants are handcuffed before they appear before a judge for an arraignment, though some are, as per AFP reports.

An arraignment is where a defendant is brought to court to hear charges and have a chance to enter a plea, which is generally guilty or not guilty. If a defendant pleads not guilty, a judge will typically accept the plea and schedule the next court appearance, and perhaps a tentative trial date. If a defendant pleads guilty, the judge will impose punishment, typically at a later date.

Trump's lawyers have said he will plead not guilty on Tuesday.

Lawyers for some defendants who plead not guilty may engage in plea bargaining, where they negotiate a guilty plea with prosecutors to avoid a trial. Defendants would typically plead guilty to some but not all charges they face.

Can Trump still run for president after indictment

An indictment or even a conviction does not legally prevent Trump from running for President. Los Angeles law professor Richard Hasen told CNN, “Nothing stops Trump from running while indicted, or even convicted.”

The report published by CNN stated that a constitution requires only three things of candidates which includes a natural born citizen, at least 35 years old, and a US resident for at least 14 years. 

However, it may be difficult for an indicted candidate to win votes. 

(With inputs from agencies)