Well color me (delightfully) shocked. I just read an interesting article that you should check out for yourself. The issue of the third clause of the 14th Amendment being used to bar Trump (and others) from holding office again has been discussed before. Correct me if I’m wrong but it’s typically included stuff about being tried and convicted before it becomes applicable. That’s why the words “Immediate Disqualification” in the title cause me to click on the article in the first place. The more I read, the more I kept thinking “Wow!” Ok, so this is me and anyone who knows much at all about me knows by “wow” I really mean “Holy SH*T!” so I might as well fess up on that point.
Anyway, here’s why. In yesterday’s (Wed.) University of Pennsylvania (Yep – an Ivy League School) Law Review was a 126 page piece (there’s a link to it in the article I already linked to) by Law Professors William Baude (University of Chicago) and and Michael Stokes Paulson (University of St. Thomas that opens with:
“Section Three of the Fourteenth Amendment forbids holding office by former office holders who then participate in insurrection or rebellion. Because of a range of misperceptions and mistaken assumptions, Section Three’s full legal consequences have not been appreciated or enforced. This article corrects those mistakes by setting forth the full sweep and force of Section Three.”
It goes on to say: “Section Three remains an enforceable part of the Constitution, not limited to the Civil War, and not effectively repealed by nineteenth century amnesty legislation.” You think that’s good? How about their stating that Congress doesn’t need to do anything to implement Trump’s (and others) “immediate disqualification from office.”
And for the coup de grace: “Section Three is self-executing, operating as an immediate disqualification from office, without the need for additional action by Congress. It can and should be enforced by every official, state or federal, who judges qualifications.”
Like I said, “Wow” or rather “Holy SH*T!”
Trust me when I say the entire article is worth a read, but what I want to emphasize is what it says in the title. These aren’t just any law professors. They are both active in the Federalist Society! If Trump were aware enough to “get” how big a deal it is that a couple of such people would nail his butt to the wall in the Law Revue of his very own alma mater he’d have yet another meltdown!
Oh but we aren’t done. It seems these aren’t a couple of renegades talking out of school. The New York Times wrote both are respected and considered “originalists” AND went on to note that Law Professor at both Northwestern and Yale universities Steven Calabresi who is a founding member of The Federalist Society called Baude’s and Paulsen’s article a “tour de force.” He went on to tell the Times not only is Trump ineligible to be on the ballot, but that all 50 Secretaries of State have an obligation to print ballots without Trump’s name on them.
Ouch!
I don’t know if this will blow up into a big deal in either print or electronic news but it damn well should. Corporate news bosses will probably clamp down on serious reporting on this but maybe social media can take up the slack. Embarrass the MSM into making this a front and center story. This only broke a few hours ago. Keep an eye out later on tonight or in the morning to see if others in The Federalist Society do some pushback.
If they don’t it will be a BFD. Because it will signal they are done with Trump. They got all they could get (with the death of RBG and a third appointment to SCOTUS from him) more than they expected but now he’s a liability. That will send shockwaves through the conservative world. Trump has milked average folk MAGAs for small donor donations for an awful long time now and many have probably reached the limit of what they can legally give. Without major donor money he’s screwed six ways from Sunday and if no less than the Federalist Society basically says “Trump’s ineligible for office and legally not even allowed on a ballot” that’s it.
One can hope.
Club for Growth doesn’t like him either. A rare moment, that I agree with these two groups.
What took them so long to bring this up? It looks like his gem was hiding in plain sight.
It says, ““Section Three is self-executing, operating as an immediate disqualification from office, without the need for additional action by Congress.”
So why did no one bring this up Jan. 7, 2021?
I feel cranky after reading this. Why were we left hanging so long? I and most of my compatriots have been in serious mental agony for the last 2 1/2 years!
Let’s settle this now. He can’t run for office period.
Or does he need to be found guilty of insurrection first? In the midst of all his bundle of charges, has he been charged with insurrection?
Somebody give us an answer.
I’m thinking this may be little more than a blatant PR move on the part of a couple of bigwigs in the FedSoc to deflect from scrutiny involving *some* of their members’ current ethics issues (members both on AND off SCOTUS).
*IF* they’re sincere (and I have trouble believing that), then good for them. But where was this opinion two and a half years ago? Or even the Congressional hearings? That’s part of why I feel a PR ploy is behind this *sudden* viewpoint shift.
The f.s., club for growth, and con groups that aren’t evang xtians have gotten what they want from the fool so they can throw him aside. No surprise here. I can’t imagine any self-respecting group of any kind wanting former guy hanging from their necks longer than absolutely necessary.
It could be one of the reasons Smith wants to prosecute the Jan 6 case quickly. A conviction would allow states to remove trump’s name from their ballots in the 2024 presidential election, though probably not all would do it. It would also bolster lawsuits against those states, and if their trump electors did reach the Senate for certification, it would be the irony of all ironies if they were rejected there.
All sounds good until the last paragraph of the 14th Amendment:
Section 3.
… “But Congress may by a vote of two-thirds of each House, remove such disability.” How are we going to get Congress to do that???
… “But Congress may by a vote of two-thirds of each House, remove such disability.” How are we going to get Congress to do that???
Penny, I think you got that backwards.
Well, excuse the hell out of me. What’s Gym Jordan and James Comey still doing in congress along with old Matt getz, mtg, and Bobo the clown also everyone’s butch Kevin macaroni. I don’t want to be a complainer but them people lied to America and they are still there in congress being assholes each and every day. Enough. Walk them to the door.