The first-ever criminal trial of a current or former American president is underway in Manhattan, renewing questions over what a potential conviction would mean for former President Trump as he campaigns for the White House.
A conviction in the New York case, where Trump faces 34 felony counts of falsifying business records, wouldn’t bar him from the presidential race, but it still could roil his 2024 bid and open up the possibility that this year’s GOP nominee is a convicted felon.
“If he happens to be convicted on 34 counts, that takes its toll even on someone like Donald Trump, who seems to be that Teflon candidate,” said Stephen Saltzburg, a George Washington University law professor and a mediator for the United States Court of Appeals for the District of Columbia Circuit.
Jury selection for the historic trial— the first of Trump’s four criminal cases to reach a jury — happened this week in Manhattan, …