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Comment by 1000units | Hacker News Reader

Has a convicted felon ever been elected as a U.S. senator before?

Tons of congressman have DUI and assault charges, so I assume yes.

I'm more curious do you have to pass a background check to be a representative?

It likely depends on what specific committees you want to serve on. It would be pretty much impossible for her to serve on say the house intelligence committee (who oversees DIRNSA and ODNI etc) as there is no feasible way she will gain a security clearance. That might not prevent her from serving faithfully on non-classified committees doing dull but necessary things our bureaucrats do to run the government.

As far as I could find, there are four GOP congressmen running with records (sans Chelsea), and one Democrat:

* Joe Arpaio (R) - Contempt of court: https://www.nytimes.com/2017/07/31/us/sheriff-joe-arpaio-con...

* Don Blankenship (R) - Conspiricy to violate federal mine safety laws: https://www.nytimes.com/2016/04/07/us/donald-blankenship-sen...

* Michael Grimm (R) - Felony tax fraud: https://www.nytimes.com/2017/10/01/nyregion/staten-island-co...

* Greg Gianforte (R) - Assault of a reporter critical to him: https://www.nytimes.com/2017/06/13/us/politics/greg-gianfort...

* David Alcorn (D) - stalking: http://dailycaller.com/2017/11/13/dem-candidate-arrested-on-...

Thanks for the list, just thought I would point out there was a bit of momentary confusion over the phrasing "critical to" vs "critical of".

The former implies the reporter was an important asset to Gianforte and that's how I parsed it at first.

I’ve never heard of a background check for an elected representative.

It is a bit strange that someone who can’t vote (a felon) could be elected and then vote on our behalf.

> It is a bit strange that someone who can’t vote (a felon)

Most states allow felons to vote: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Felony_disenfranchisement#In_t...

They'd have to get background checks to serve on any committee which handles any sort of classified information. They'd need a clearance to head into the SCIF: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Sensitive_Compartmented_Inform...

That isn't really correct, as I understand it. The staffers get background checks, the senators and representatives take a secrecy oath in lieu of a process administered by the executive.

And really, with the separation of powers, how else would it work? The legislators are supposed to oversee things the executive does, do you think that it would be constitutional for the executive to tell the legislature to go fly a kite if the legislature asked to be told things? That, itself, could/would be unconstitutional...

edit: source: https://www.cia.gov/library/center-for-the-study-of-intellig...

Is someone with a presidential pardon still considered a felon? I know the pardon does not erase the conviction, but since a pardon seems to erase the most significant consequences, does it erase all consequences?

A pardon erases prison time, it does not erase any fines resulting from said crime, and also is admitting guilt to the crime[1]. One of the biggest things a pardon does as a result of that (like a guilty plea does as well) is open you up to civil suits. Also, accepting a pardon prevents you from pleading the 5th on any further or follow up charges related to said crime. It is a pretty slippery slope actually. Your question is an interesting one, but one better suited for a Constitutional law scholar such as Professor Lawrence Tribe (runs the constitutional law program at Harvard).

[1] Burdick vs United States: https://scholar.google.com/scholar_case?case=392852811788210...

That is the usual interpretation of that case, but not the only one.

https://medium.com/@brendanlilly/are-presidential-pardons-an...

Manning was not pardoned. But that's all rather moot. People have run for office from prison (and won).

Thank you for pointing that out. It does look like Obama commuted her sentence, and did not pardon her. I guess I had either heard or remembered incorrectly.

Even a pardon doesn’t remove the conviction. Trump pardoned Arpaio and Arpaio tried to have the conviction vacated as well but the judge refused.

My original question wasn't about the actual conviction, but rather about all penalties typically associated with the conviction. I've found several other sources online, though I don't know how credible because IANAL, that suggest a pardon could restore rights typically lost to felons, like the right to vote.

Why do you think the right to vote is related to the ability to run for federal office? They don't appear to be. I'm no sort of legal expert myself but it seems states have significant say in who gets to vote - a thread that runs through the entirety of US history, is the subject of several constitutional amendments and continues to this day.

The qualifications to run for Congress, on the other hand, are explicitly spelled out in the original document. It's not clear to me anything other than a federal law can add any additional restrictions like, say, the Hatch Act does.

Can federal law add restrictions beyond those in the Constitution for eligibility to Congress? I didn't think it could.

I threw this in mostly as a hedge so that someone who knows better doesn't slap me around with the Hatch act.

It seems like the converse is true, though, states don't get to define qualifications - U.S. Term Limits, Inc. v. Thornton, 514 U.S. 779 (1995)

"Second, even if the States possessed some original power in this area, it must be concluded that the Framers intended the Constitution to be the exclusive source of qualifications for Members of Congress, and that the Framers thereby "divested" States of any power to add qualifications."

Manning received clemency, therefore has re-gained all rights that were "lost," including the right to vote (as well as run for office).

Most states restore voting rights for felons after a period of time.

I've always considered it against the American spirit to strip any citizen of the right to vote.

There is no constitutional barrier to Manning becoming a senator if she wins an election.

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/List_of_American_federal_polit...

This is unresponsive. I'm asking how many Americans voted into public office someone known at the time to be a criminal of the highest degree (e.g., someone convicted of espionage and aiding the enemy like Manning).

Alcee Hastings, impeached, convicted, and removed from the Federal judiciary, was subsequently elected to the House.

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Alcee_Hastings

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