In recent days, several lawsuits have already been filed against the tycoon to try to prevent his candidacy in the US presidential elections. in 2024.
Former US President Donald Trump could be barred from the upcoming presidential election if his opponents can prove that the politician may be subject to a rarely used clause in the US Constitution targeting candidates who have supported a “insurrection“.
In that case, Trump would be disqualified from occupying the White House again due to his alleged attempts to undermine the 2020 elections and the role he played in the assault on Capitol on January 6, 2021.
What is the insurrection clause?
The clause, the 14th Amendmentstipulates that anyone who “participate in an insurrection or rebellion” after taking an oath to uphold the Constitution is barred from holding any public office. The 14th Amendment was written after the Civil war and the clause was intended to prevent southern states from electing former Confederate officials to Congress.
“No person, having previously sworn to defend the Constitution of the United States as a member of the Congress, as an official of the United States or as a member of the Legislative Assembly of any state or as an executive or judicial officer thereof, has taken part in any insurrection or rebellion against the United States or has rendered aid or facilities to the enemies of the country. But Congress, through the vote of two-thirds of each Chamber, will be able to correct this inability,” the document reads.
Does it apply to Trump?
Certain jurists assure that the rule is applicable to the former president since the disqualification from the political career is “self-executing”, that is, it is automatically applied to any person who has failed to comply with the criteria stipulated in the amendment and it is not necessary for there to be a criminal conviction. linked to the insurrection. “The only way to avoid disqualification is for Congress to grant amnesty by two-thirds of the votes in each Chamber“, reports Politico.
However, there are those who argue that the criminal justice system is the most appropriate mechanism to prevent someone who participated in an insurrection from holding political office. In this context, Michael McConnell, a professor at Stanford Law School, warned against an “overly loose” interpretation of the document, insisting that the terms “insurrection” or “rebellion” should apply “only to uprisings.” more serious against the Government“, like the Civil War.
Lawsuits against Trump
In recent days, several lawsuits have already been filed against Trump to try to prevent his candidacy in the US presidential elections in 2024. One of the plaintiffs, identified as Lawrence Caplan, told a federal court in Florida Trump’s likely involvement in the Capitol riots.
“Assuming the public record to date is accurate, and we have no evidence to the contrary, Trump is no longer eligible to run for the office of President of the United States, or of any other state in the Union,” Caplan said in the lawsuit. .
In turn, a Republican presidential candidate John Anthony Castro also filed a lawsuit in New Hampshire arguing that Trump violated the 14th Amendment and even seeking an injunction that would force the tycoon to be kept off the ballot.
At the same time, another lawsuit was filed this Wednesday in Colorado to exclude Trump from the primary elections. Colorado Secretary of State Jena Griswold, a Democrat, said she hoped “this case will provide guidance to election officials on Trump’s eligibility to run for office.”
It is considered that a secretary of state could preemptively exclude him from the ballot, although Trump, in turn, would surely try to appeal the decision. For its part, the legal advocacy group Free Speech for People has already spent this summer petitioning secretaries of state and top election officials in nine states of the country to exclude Trump from the ballot citing the 14th Amendment.
“Trump’s participation in the violent attack on Congress to prevent the certification of the democratic election results disqualifies him from holding any public office in the future,” the organization said.
Source: RT
