Jury convicts Donald Trump: Now what?

Donald Trump made history on Thursday, becoming the first former president and first major-party presidential candidate to be convicted of felony crimes.

But apart from that unique distinction, the decision by a Manhattan jury to convict him on 34 counts of falsifying business records - all tied to $130,000 in hush money payments he authorized in 2016 to porn star Stormy Daniels - raises a number of significant questions about Trump's unprecedented legal situation and the impact it will have on his presidential campaign.

Is Trump going to prison?

Trump has been free on bail throughout the trial and will remain so until at least his sentencing on July 11 - four days before the Republican National Convention in Milwaukee, where he is expected to accept his party's presidential nomination.

Although it's possible that Trump could be sent to prison - each count of which he was convicted Thursday carries a maximum term of four years - legal experts say it's unlikely that Justice Juan Merchan will sentence the former president to time behind bars.

In weighing that decision, the judge must consider several factors, including Trump's age, 77, and his lack of previous convictions - not to mention the logistical and security complications of potentially imprisoning a former head of state (who enjoys lifetime protection by the Secret Service) and a current candidate for president.

Because each count on which Trump was convicted Thursday is classified a Class E felony - or the lowest-level felony in New York state law - probation is an option.

On the other hand, Trump has repeatedly attacked the court and Merchan as being "biased" and "corrupt" in statements in the run-up to and throughout the trial - factors that the judge could interpret as a lack of respect for the law from Trump and that could lead to a stiffer sentence.

But no matter what sentence Merchan imposes, Trump will undoubtedly appeal his conviction and will most likely be allowed to remain free until that process is resolved.

Can Trump still run for president?

Yes. The U.S. Constitution does not disqualify felons from seeking or assuming elected office.

In 1920, Socialist Party candidate Eugene V. Debs ran for president from prison after being convicted on sedition charges for speaking out against the draft during World War I. Though he won nearly one million votes, that amounted to less than 4%.

U.S. Rep. Matthew Lyon remains the only federal officeholder to run for and win reelection from prison - a distinction the Vermont representative earned in 1798 while serving a sentence for sedition tied to his criticism of President John Adams.

When are Trump's other trials?

Trump is still facing three other sets of charges - election fraud cases in Georgia and Washington, D.C., tied to his efforts to overturn the results of the 2020 election and a case in Florida involving allegations that he mishandled classified documents.

But it seems unlikely at this point that any of them will be ready for trial before the November election.

None of the three has a trial date and all have been hung up for months by arguments over motions and appeals of pretrial rulings.

Of the three, the Georgia case - in which Trump is accused of conspiring with 18 others to overturn the 2020 election results in Georgia - may be the most trial-ready.

State prosecutors, led by Fulton County District Attorney Fani Willis, have proposed Aug. 5 for jury selection to begin - almost three weeks after Trump is expected to accept his party's nomination at the Republican National Convention on July 18.

But that's an ambitious timeline, given that there are several key questions hanging over the proceedings - including whether Willis will continue to oversee the case.

Earlier this month, the Georgia Court of Appeals said it would consider a request from Trump and his codefendants seeking to disqualify her over a romantic relationship she had with the lead prosecutor she appointed to the case. Willis is also pursuing her own appeal to the court over several charges against Trump that were dismissed earlier this year by the judge overseeing the case.

Complicating matters further, the U.S. Supreme Court is preparing to rule on an issue that could complicate the Georgia case even further - whether Trump, as a former president, enjoys broad immunity from criminal prosecution on all matters pertaining to the election.

That question arose out of Trump's election interference case in Washington - a set of federal charges announced by Special Counsel Jack Smith last summer - and continues to delay any prospect of a trial in that matter.

During oral arguments last month, the Supreme Court's justices appeared skeptical of Trump's claims of absolute immunity but gave no indication on how quickly they might rule. However, a decision is expected before the court's current term ends in June.

As for Trump's case in Florida - another set of federal charges brought by Smith involving the former president's alleged mishandling of classified documents - the judge overseeing the proceedings announced earlier this month that she was postponing trial indefinitely as she continues to sort through pretrial arguments and issues arising from the classified evidence in the case.

Could Trump pardon himself if he wins?

No. Presidents can issue pardons only for those who have committed federal offenses. The charges of which he was convicted Thursday are New York state crimes.

The same is true should a jury find him guilty of the state charges in his Georgia election interference case.

As for his two federal cases - the one in Washington on election fraud charges and the classified documents case in Florida - the question of whether Trump could pardon himself should he be convicted remains a matter of debate.

Constitutional scholars disagree on whether the president's pardon power extends to himself. And although the question has never been tested, the U.S. Department of Justice issued a nonbinding, advisory opinion in 1974 seeking to answer it while juggling the fallout of President Richard Nixon's involvement in the Watergate scandal.

It concluded that a president cannot issue himself a pardon, noting that granting him the power to do so would violate "the fundamental rule that no one may be a judge in his own case."