Another day, another entry into the Donald J. Drumpf compilation of “You couldn’t make this s*it up” stories.
Herr Gropinfuhrer’s lawyers in the case seeking to exclude him from the Colorado ballot in 2024 for inciting a riot and sending his cult members to sack the U.S. Capitol in an attempt to overturn the 2020 election are arguing that the specific language used in Section III three of the fourteenth amendment stipulating than no who has sworn to “support” the Constitution who then can be shown to have “engaged in insurrection or rebellion against the same” can hold a state or federal office cannot be applied to the President because his Constitutionally mandated oath binds him instead to “preserve, protect and defend” it.
I wonder how many angels they will try to set to breakdancing on the head of that pin?
That’s why they make the big bucks, I suppose…
“Former President Donald Trump is arguing to a judge in Colorado that he was not required to “support” the Constitution as president, reported Brandi Buchman from Law & Crime.
The argument came as he seeks to dismiss a lawsuit filed in the state by Citizens for Responsibility and Ethics in Washington (CREW), seeking to have him disqualified from the ballot in the state under the 14th Amendment. The Insurrection Clause of the amendment prohibits those who have “engaged in insurrection” against the United States from holding a civil, military, or elected office without unless a two-thirds majority of the House and Senate approve…
But Trump’s lawyers are arguing that the specific language of the Constitution argues that this requirement only applies to people in offices who are bound to “support” the Constitution — and the presidency is not one of those offices.
“The Presidential oath, which the framers of the Fourteenth Amendment surely knew, requires the President to swear to ‘preserve, protect and defend’ the Constitution — not to ‘support’ the Constitution,” said the filing by Trump’s attorneys. “Because the framers chose to define the group of people subject to Section Three by an oath to ‘support’ the Constitution of the United States, and not by an oath to ‘preserve, protect and defend’ the Constitution, the framers of the Fourteenth Amendment never intended for it to apply to the President.”
Raw Story’s followers were not impressed by that fine legal distinction:
Sweet Mother of Lawyer-Jibberishing Christ! His lawyers just argued in DC that he was "taking care" that the laws are upheld.
He needs to pay his lawyers. I think.
— Joe Delmonaco (@delmonaco_joe) October 11, 2023
Or at least have them Zoom one another…
I'm sorry but every president since George Washington took an oath to protect and defend the constitution of the United States…what makes trump any different? Because he thinks his feces smells like a bouquet of flowers? All Presidents support it, if not then they shouldn't be
— Ricky Lamont 💙 (@RickyLamont1970) October 11, 2023
Yup
Whut? pic.twitter.com/A4iU3TS7cf
— Flintstone56 (@Flintstone561) October 11, 2023
What was he thinking about when he was taking the oath of office?
Anything except the oath of office…
How could swear to uphold a document that he had never read?— Henry Fennell (@NankipooTN) October 11, 2023
Exactly. And neither have his lawyers, I think.
That was his job. pic.twitter.com/Nk8YpEDSim
— bloretta56 (@bloretta561) October 11, 2023
A fine likeness…
What?
That is 95% of the job!
Didn't he swear with his little hand on the Bible do so exactly that?— Mike honcho (@bish23_mark) October 11, 2023
🤣🤣🤣
So his best defense is semantics.
— Dick_Buckley (@rjbuckl) October 11, 2023
I guess.
Oh thank God he’s found a loophole.
— David Watson (@DavidWatson0747) October 11, 2023
🤣🤣🤣
With lawyering of this quality it’s little wonder that he rarely wins a case.
His attornies obviously have never read the text of the presidential oath of office: “…will to the best of my ability, preserve, protect and defend the Constitution of the United States.”
“…preserve, protect, and defend,” sure sounds like “support” of the constitution to me!
Does the wording of ANY of the oaths of office or the military oath use the exact word “support”? it doesn’t sound familiar. The writers of the Fourteenth would be appalled at this quantum dot splitting argument.
Well, his fellow traitors from sea to shining sea will be spouting the word support for the next year or so.
Enlisted take this oath:
“I, _____, do solemnly swear (or affirm) that I will support and defend the Constitution of the United States against all enemies, foreign and domestic; that I will bear true faith and allegiance to the same; and that I will obey the orders of the President of the United States and the orders of the officers appointed over me, according to regulations and the Uniform Code of Military Justice. So help me God.”
Officers take this one:
The Oath of Office (for officers):
“I, _____ (SSAN), having been appointed an officer in the _____ (Military Branch) of the United States, as indicated above in the grade of _____ do solemnly swear (or affirm) that I will support and defend the Constitution of the United States against all enemies, foreign or domestic, that I will bear true faith and allegiance to the same; that I take this obligation freely, without any mental reservation or purpose of evasion; and that I will well and faithfully discharge the duties of the office upon which I am about to enter; So help me God.”
These are called “Oaths of Enlistment”.
So, the military oaths at least do use the term “support”.
For the President-elect the Constitution, Article II, Section 1, Clause 8 states:
Before he enter on the Execution of his Office, he shall take the following Oath or Affirmation:–”I do solemnly swear (or affirm) that I will faithfully execute the Office of President of the United States, and will to the best of my Ability, preserve, protect and defend the Constitution of the United States.” So there is a bit of a difference: a prez is required to preserve, protect and defend. Not “support” but I do not see where he kept the oath as written either.
Trump’s rag-tag attorneys deserve Trump. It’s a good match, given how totally ludicrous and simultaneously ignorant of fact they are. The real atrocity in all this is how much the media fawns over Trump, relegating their s**t show to the nation. For seven-plus years we the people have been bombarded by and subjected to the lunacy of the Trump clown show. It will be a day from Heaven when we no longer have to hear about him, his family or his traitorous followers.