The second indictment of former President Donald J. Trump — this time over his hoarding of delicate authorities paperwork — provides to the weird questions raised by the spectacle of somebody working for president whereas going through costs.

The indictment — and any conviction — wouldn’t bar Mr. Trump from working.

Nevertheless, it could be extraordinary for an individual who’s beneath indictment, not to mention convicted of a felony, to be a serious get together nominee.

There are only some historic examples of considerably critical candidates who even come shut. They embrace the unsuccessful run within the 2016 Republican main by Rick Perry, the previous governor of Texas, after he was indicted on charges of abuse of power (the fees have been dismissed months after he dropped out of the race), and the 1920 run by Eugene V. Debs as the Socialist Party nominee whereas he sat in jail for an Espionage Act conviction.

If Mr. Trump have been to be elected president whereas a felony case in opposition to him was pending or after any conviction, many issues would ensue.

The Justice Department has prior to now taken the place that even indicting a president whereas in workplace could be unconstitutional as a result of it could intrude with the president’s capacity to carry out duties as head of the chief department. Mr. Trump would absolutely attempt to get the case dismissed on that foundation. There isn’t any definitive Supreme Court ruling as a result of the difficulty has by no means arisen earlier than.

Notably, in 1997, the Supreme Court allowed a federal lawsuit in opposition to President Bill Clinton to proceed whereas he was in workplace. That was a civil case, nevertheless — not a felony one. Mr. Trump additionally faces a state case, an indictment in Manhattan in April, the place he’s accused of falsifying enterprise information associated to a hush-money fee.

Even extra extraordinary issues would come up have been Mr. Trump to be convicted and incarcerated and but elected anyway. One risk is that he may win a federal courtroom order requiring his launch from jail because of a constitutional problem. Another is that upon the graduation of his second time period, he could possibly be instantly faraway from workplace beneath the twenty fifth Amendment as “unable to discharge the powers and duties of his office.”