Maybe, on some level, the anti-Trump Republican forces hoped Donald Trump’s moment in the GOP would fade. Democrats, without doubt, would have opted for another Trump-Biden rematch since the consensus was, at the time, that the former president would make for an easier opponent than Ron DeSantis. The Left never accounted for the avalanche of corroborating evidence and whistleblower testimony pointing to a Justice Department interference campaign regarding Hunter Biden and his shady government access deals. The Biden DOJ hamstrung these probes because some leads could have engulfed Joe Biden.
This scandal has become an albatross around the neck of the president, along with his failed messaging campaign over “Bidenomics.” No one is giving the man credit for this supposed economic recovery because inflation remains high. Also, Biden’s age and physical appearance have many voters wondering if he will keel over at any moment. It’s entertaining because liberal political operatives felt Biden could wipe the floor with Trump again. Instead, everyone is saying he’s too old, the media is finally admitting something stinks concerning his son’s business deals, and his approval ratings are heinous. Biden is eminently beatable, while Trump gains new political strength with every passing indictment. That’s why this silly effort to disqualify Trump from the 2024 ballot appears to be gaining steam.
.@RepAdamSchiff: “By the clear terms of the 14th Amendment, [Trump] should be disqualified from holding office.” pic.twitter.com/SYI4rrpSgC
— Inside with Jen Psaki (@InsideWithPsaki) September 3, 2023
At this point, anti-Trump Republicans want to purge the man from the party, while Democrats will go along with it, not wanting to risk the billionaire real estate magnate re-entering the White House. It has a tinge of credibility because its brain trust comes from supposedly conservative legal scholars. It’s the legal ‘Hail Mary’ attempt is rooted in a shoddy interpretation of Section III of the 14th Amendment:
No person shall be a Senator or Representative in Congress, or elector of President and Vice-President, or hold any office, civil or military, under the United States, or under any State, who, having previously taken an oath, as a member of Congress, or as an officer of the United States, or as a member of any State legislature, or as an executive or judicial officer of any State, 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. But Congress may by a vote of two-thirds of each House, remove such disability.
This attempt to weaponize the 14th Amendment isn’t the first time those who can’t get over the little riot that is January 6 have attempted to bar duly elected members from running again. Rep. Marjorie Taylor Greene (R-GA) got slapped with this lawsuit in 2022 and beat it. Still, New Hampshire, Arizona, and Michigan are looking into whether these arguments have merit or facing lawsuits in the hope that it will lead to Trump being taken off the ballot. Michigan’s secretary of state, Jocelyn Benson, is facing such a lawsuit.
Trump got slapped with four indictments, one dealing with the event of January 6. It’s telling that even Special Counsel Jack Smith’s rabidly anti-Trump corps of lawyers and investigators didn’t charge the former president anything about insurrection or rebellion. Why? It’s simple: there is no evidence.
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In Florida, a recent lawsuit along these lines was tossed by an Obama-appointed judge, though not over 14th Amendment issues. The judge said the parties lacked standing because there was no evidence that they were injured parties. So, there are many hurdles for those who think this 14th Amendment nonsense will stick in the courts. There’s precedent that isn’t too kind to them, and other matters of procedure appear to be lacking.
