UK Paper Claims Trump As a Felon Is Now Banned From Visiting 37 Nations - But Is He, Really?

The news cycle is certainly exploring every possible implication of the outcome of former President Donald Trump's Manhattan trial. In one of the latest, the United Kingdom's Independent is breathlessly reporting that there is a list of 37 countries that Donald Trump, as a convicted felon, will not be able to visit. The publication's headline says, "Donald Trump’s felony conviction now means he’s banned from a host of countries including Canada and UK," but that's just not true.

In other words: This is a nothingburger:

Nearly 40 nations - including Canada and the UK - have strict policies when it comes to allowing individuals with criminal records across their borders, and barring a special accommodation, Trump would be held to those same standards. It’s unclear if he would be allowed to visit if he wins the presidental election in November, but remains a felon.
Here are just five of the 37 nations that can now ban Trump from entry now that he's a felon:

A couple of things spring out in the list of five:

Israel:

Israel reserves the right to refuse entry to anyone with a criminal record, including felonies. Border control forces in Israel have the authority to bar entry for anyone suspected of committing a crime or with a record, and Trump meets both of those qualifiers.

"Reserve the right to refuse entry" does not mean Trump is, as the Independent states in the headline, "banned." Given the staunchly pro-Israel tone Trump took in his presidency and since, and given his facilitation of the Abraham Accords, it's unlikely in the extreme that Israel would disallow his entry.

Japan:

Under Japanese law anyone convicted of a violation of "any law of regulation" of any country and has been sentenced to "imprisonment with or without work for 1 year or more, or to an equivalent penalty" can be barred from entry.
Japanese law does note that individuals convicted of a "political offense" are not subject to those rules.

First of all, Donald Trump hasn't been sentenced to anything yet, much less "imprisonment with or without work for 1 year or more." And notice the language: "can be barred from entry." Does anyone think that America's greatest ally in the Pacific would decline a visit from the President of the United States?

And finally, the United Kingdom:

Under UK law, a felon can visit Ireland and Scotland with some restrictions and requirements in place. However, Britain can bar access to convicted felons.

Unless an “Immigration Officer is satisfied that admission would be justified for strong compassionate reasons,” they can refuse access to any convicted, so long as the crime they committed would also be punishable by imprisonment in the UK.

Again, the UK's code leaves them plenty of wiggle room. It is belaboring the obvious to note that "can" does not equal "will."

Add to that the fact that, should Trump be reelected (Alvin Bragg may well have just sealed the deal on that), he would be a head of state, and would therefore have diplomatic immunity under the UN Convention on Special Missions of 1969.

This is, as stated, a nothingburger. Their headline is pure clickbait. If Donald Trump is reelected, the duties of President will take him to many other countries, and there is no way any United States ally is going to deny entry to the leader of the free world - and until then, the issue is unlikely to arise, as (we can hope) Donald Trump will be devoting every free moment doing what he does best, talking about himself - and holding huge rallies for adoring crowds, making his case for a second term.

Team Biden Unleashes Full-On Attack on Trump, Calling Him a 'Convicted Felon'

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