Re-Election Could Allow Trump to Get Away with It

Politico: “The statute of limitations on the campaign finance felonies in question, as well as virtually any other felony with which President Trump might be charged, is five years, beginning with when the offenses were committed. Especially if Trump were reelected in 2020, he would still be a sitting president when those five years are up. Does that mean he might be able to run out the clock? Would he be legally free from prosecution if he serves two full terms in office?”

“Notably, the OLC opinion recognized this risk. The drafters believed, however, that either Congress could lengthen the statute of limitations or the courts could ‘toll’ the statute – that is, freeze it in place until the president has left office – as a matter of their ‘equitable’ discretion. But neither option is especially likely. For one thing, Congress cannot lengthen the statute of limitations if the statute has already run; the Supreme Court so held in 2003. And while Congress might be able to lengthen the statute before it has fully run, it almost surely could not constitutionally do so only for the case of United States v. Trump.”