Washington DC 12 AUG 2023
The following elected officials are immediately banned from seeking future public office: Donald Trump, MTG, Lauren Boebert, Jim Jordan, Matt Gaetz, Ted Cruz, Josh Hawley, the 147 Republicans who voted to overturn the election results, all the state elected officials in the fake electoral schemes, and all of their fellow travelers currently in public office or who may seek public office at any time in the future.
Election officials around the United States have the standing authority to remove the names of all those seeking election to any office, in all jurisdictions, from all ballots, of anyone who participated in Jan 6 or gave aid and comfort to insurrectionists. Aid and comfort includes all the spin delivered by these officials into the right wing mediasphere that tricked the Maga public into thinking the election was stolen.
The blocking and/or removal of these names from the ballot can happen right now. No further authority is needed. All of the election officials who have been threatened, attacked, and smeared, are empowered by the US Constitution to ensure that putschists can never again use the power and authority of public office to attempt to destroy the constitution.
These are the key findings of two conservative Federalist lawyers in a forthcoming law review article that is the product of over a year of legal research. University of Chicago professor William Baude and University of St. Thomas professor Michael Stokes Paulsen, are authors of “The Sweep and Force of Section Three” (linked below) a 124 page article supported by 454 footnotes.
They write, Donald Trump and “potentially many others, are constitutionally disqualified from office, because of their participation in the attempted overthrow of the 2020 presidential election.” Section 3 to the 14th Amendment “can and should be enforced by every official, state or federal, who judges qualifications.” Action can be taken immediately “without the need for additional action by Congress [because §3 is] self-executing, operating as an immediate disqualification from office” (emphasis added).
This is a very significant development. Election officials should act immediately to fulfill the powers granted to them in the constitution. No doubt legal cases will arise and that is in part the point.
Trump knows can not win a single case in Court. As ever, his only hope is propaganda. His strategy is delay and “flooding the zone with bullshit” in the media - hoping he can retake office and pardon himself. This is why he is baiting the Judges on his cases with outrageous threats like “If you come after me, I will come after you”. He wants to be found him in contempt - he needs to be found in contempt and imprisoned. The best thing that can happen to Trump right now is pre-trail detention. This will play into his victimhood and grievance that all of the cases against him are political, when in fact they are the product of his relentless crimes sprees all over the country.
Election officials can turn the delay tables on Trump and all of his anti-democratic cabal. Ban them all from the ballot and let the courts decide (sound familiar? This is the Eastman proposal in reverse. Whats good for the goose…). Get the timing right and it will be too late for Courts to change the outcome.
Is this extreme? Is supporting the constitution extreme? Is using the law to prevent those who continue to aid and support terrorists from gaining public office extreme? I call it the sole guarantee of democracy.
14th Amendment §3
No person shall hold any office, civil or military, under the United States, who, having previously taken an oath, as an officer of the United States.. to support the Constitution of the United States, shall have engaged in insurrection or rebellion against the same, or given aid or comfort to the enemies thereof.
Here is the legal scholars argument in more detail
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. Section Three covers a broad range of conduct against the authority of the constitutional order, including many instances of indirect participation or support as “aid or comfort.” It covers a broad range of former offices, including the Presidency. And in particular, it disqualifies former President Donald Trump, and potentially many others, because of their participation in the attempted overthrow of the 2020 presidential election.
If a President… planned, supported, assisted, encouraged, endorsed, or aided in a material way those who engaged in the insurrection of January 6, or otherwise knowingly and willfully participated in a broader rebellion against the constitutional system, such persons are constitutionally disqualified from office. In such situations, Section Three’s constitutional disqualifications can, should, and must be carried out.
Read the full article here:
See Additional Commentary here:
MSNBC -
Update - 12 SEP 2023
Attention to this issue gathers steam. Here is an article in the WP
GOP lawyer with ties to three Trump rivals enters 14th Amendment fray
A Republican election lawyer with ties to three of former president Donald Trump’s GOP primary opponents has joined a crowded field of individuals and groups exploring whether the former president can be kept off the ballot for his role in fomenting the violent attack on the U.S. Capitol on Jan. 6, 2021.
Jason Torchinsky, a partner with the Virginia law firm Holtzman Vogel, has in recent days initiated conversations about the idea of trying to disqualify Trump with a range of figures, including a Democratic secretary of state, fellow election lawyers and a retired federal judge who has helped lead the push to question Trump’s eligibility, according to multiple people familiar with the calls.
The lawyer’s involvement reflects the latest escalation in an emerging legal fight over a once-obscure provision of the Constitution. The tussle has produced surprising alliances, and analysts say it will probably end with a ruling on Trump’s eligibility from the Supreme Court.
Federal judge agrees with CWII
https://youtu.be/bUcAxS5tQ9E
Thanks for the recommendation. I watched the video. What he suggests they may try but the argument does not fit. That never stops them of course but a reasonable person standard works here. There are 2 arguments - propaganda and reality. On Earth 1, the 14th Am argument works. To hell with the spin.