Donald Trump will be the 1st convicted felon president. Here's what that means

Republican Donald Trump will be thefirst convicted felon to hold the White House, after beating Democratic candidate Kamala Harris to return to office after leaving in explosive fashion four years ago.

Trump's U.S. presidential election victory will essentially end the four criminal cases broughtagainst him, at least for the four years he occupies the WhiteHouse.

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Here's a look at the questions his unprecedentedstatus as a felonraises.

So you can be president after being convicted of a crime?

There is nothing under federal law or in the U.S. Constitution that prevents a felon from leading the nation. To become president, candidates need only be at least 35 years old, a natural-born citizen and a resident of the United States for at least 14 years.

The law is harder on voters than presidential candidates: in some states, felons cannot vote for the leader of their country.

What crime did Trump commit?

Trump was convicted in New York this spring on 34 felony counts of falsifying business records in connection with a hush-money payment made to a porn star before the 2016 presidential election.

Could Trump pardon himself in thatcase?

No.

Presidential pardoning power only applies to federal offences, not to crimes violating state law.

So he's still going to be sentenced?

Probably not anytime soon. Trump's lawyers are expected to ask JusticeJuan Merchan to delay his sentencing currently scheduled forNov. 26 in which he could face up to four years in prison.Sentencing a president-elect ahead of Inauguration Day would beunprecedented in U.S. history, and legal experts expect thehearing to be delayed.

Merchan has already twice postponed Trump's sentencing,which was initially scheduled for July 11, in part due to a JulyU.S. Supreme Court ruling finding that presidents have broadimmunity from prosecution over their official acts. Trump arguesthe case should be dismissed based on the ruling, whichprosecutors dispute.

Lawrence Douglas, professor of law at Amherst College in Massachusetts, told CBC News Networkthat even before Trump's election victory, jail time for a first-time felon was probably not in the cards.

"But assuming that he did receive a prison sentence, certainly the court would suspend the sentence while he is in serving as president," he said. "So I don't think we would imagine having to move the desk from the Oval Office into a prison cell."

What are Trump's other indictments?

Trump faces charges in federal court in Washingtonaccusing him of spreading false claims of election fraud to tryto block the collection and certification of votes following the2020 election, which Trump lost to Democrat Joe Biden.

Another case involved his refusal to return classified documents to the federal government after leaving office.

Finally, prosecutors in Fulton County, Ga., last year used stateracketeering laws developed to fight organized crime tocharge Trump in an alleged conspiracy to reverse his defeat inthe battleground state in the 2020 election.

Trumphas denied any wrongdoing,and none of those cases have been resolved.

What will happen to those cases?

"Almost certainly he will fire Jack Smith," Douglas said. "He's the prosecutor in the Department of Justice who'sbrought these charges against them, and as a resultwe won't see any kind of legal reckoning with [Trump's]alleged interference with the 2020 election."

Smith is also prosecutor of the classified documents cases, which would similarly be stopped.

Trump does not have the same control over Georgia's prosecution. But his unique role as president makes it unlikely he will face legal consequences during his term in office. His lawyer has already said in court he will seek to pause any activity related to Trump based on an argument that a president should not face the burden of a criminal prosecution while in office.

If he was charged in an alleged conspiracy, aren't there other defendants?

Yes. Trump and eight of his 14 co-defendants in the case areasking a Georgia appeals court to disqualify the leadprosecutor, Fulton County District Attorney Fani Willis, overalleged misconduct stemming from a romantic relationship she hadwith a former deputy. Oral arguments are scheduled for Dec. 5.

If that effort fails, the case will be able to proceedagainst the other co-defendants, who include Trump's formerpersonal lawyer Rudy Giuliani and White House chief of staffMark Meadows. But legal experts expect that the case against Trump will not progress while he remains in the White House.

What about the 14th Amendment disqualifyingcandidates who are involved in insurrection?

The amendment does take those candidates out of contention,but Trump was not charged with insurrection after the attack at the U.S. Capitol on Jan. 6, 2021.