14th Amendment used to remove Trump from 2024 ballot: Report

Efforts to Disqualify Trump from 2024 Election Gain Momentum

Efforts to remove former President Donald Trump from​ state ⁣ballots​ in the 2024 election ‌are ramping up nationwide after critics argued the leading Republican contender is constitutionally ‍disqualified from serving as president after he “engaged in ⁣insurrection” against ‌the United States.

Trump, ⁣who ​is leading the GOP primaries by a landslide, ‍faces four⁣ separate ​indictments along ⁢the East Coast, including charges related to hush money, classified⁤ documents, election interference, and racketeering. ‍Trump has broadly⁣ denied any wrongdoing in ⁢the charges brought against him and ‌has ‍claimed ⁣politically motivated ‍forces are targeting​ him⁣ in a “witch hunt” propagated ⁤by the ⁢Biden administration and Democrat ‌prosecutors.

But‍ now opponents across⁤ the political spectrum of the former president are arguing that under the U.S. Constitution’s⁢ 14th Amendment, ⁣Trump ⁢is barred from holding office ever again after the January 6 Capitol attack.

Challenging Trump’s Eligibility

Lawrence Caplan,‍ a Florida tax attorney, became the ⁣first to challenge Trump’s candidacy for president in federal court last week,‌ pointing to the ⁣Amendment’s “disqualification clause” that says those who “have engaged in insurrection‍ or rebellion” against the government cannot⁢ hold office.

He told The Hill that the former president’s ⁣grand jury indictments in the Washington, D.C., election⁣ interference federal case and​ the‌ Georgia case stemming from alleged efforts to overturn the​ 2020 election make ⁢his disqualification automatic, despite neither⁢ indictment accusing Trump of inciting the ‌mob that attacked the Capitol.

“The bottom line here is that‍ President Trump both engaged in an insurrection and also gave aid and comfort ⁣to other individuals who were engaging in such actions, within the clear meaning of those terms as defined in Section Three of the Fourteenth Amendment,” Caplan wrote in a filing last week, challenging Trump’s eligibility to run for office again. “Assuming ⁢that the public ⁤record to date is accurate, and we ⁢have no evidence‍ to the contrary, Trump is ⁤no longer eligible⁢ to seek the ​office of the President of the United⁤ States, or of ‌any other state of the Union.”

The Fourteenth Amendment to the U.S. Constitution was ratified in ‌1868 in ⁤the aftermath of the Civil War during the Reconstruction ⁤Era and was designed to represent a new birth of freedom for previously disenfranchised ⁣citizens,‌ according to Cornell University’s Legal Information Institute. The Amendment’s ⁤“disqualification clause” was‍ written ‍to bar those ⁤who had⁣ joined the Confederacy ​from serving in ⁢state or federal office, but would “theoretically still apply” to those who engage ⁣in future rebellions or‌ insurrections against ⁤the⁣ U.S.

Two legal ‍professors​ and members of the conservative‌ Federalist Society, William ‌Baude and Michael Stokes⁣ Paulsen, endorsed the ⁢“self-executing” idea in the Pennsylvania Law ​Review, ⁢writing the clause “is alive⁢ and in force” ⁤and that if any‌ government official ⁢“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.”

Former Arkansas Gov. Asa Hutchinson said during the ‍GOP presidential debate in Milwaukee last week that he would “not going ⁤to support somebody who’s been convicted of a serious felony or who is disqualified under⁤ our ‌Constitution.”

Former conservative 4th Circuit Appeals Court Judge⁤ J. Michael Luttig and liberal Harvard legal ⁣scholar Laurence​ Tribe published ‌an article last‍ week in The Atlantic claiming Trump’s effort to allegedly remain in power after the 2020 election “place him squarely⁣ within the ambit‍ of the disqualification clause.”

Two civil rights organizations — ⁤Mi Familia Vota and Free Speech for People — also ‌launched campaigns in July to pressure state ⁢officials in ​Nevada, California,⁣ Oregon, Colorado, and ‌Georgia⁣ to disqualify Trump from appearing on ‍ballots​ in those ​states⁣ in 2024, according to The Hill.

And Bryant “Corky” Messner, a⁤ former New Hampshire U.S.​ Senate candidate in⁣ 2020 previously endorsed by Trump,​ announced plans to materialize the former president’s disqualification ⁢at the state level, ABC reported.

Opposition and Criticism

But ⁢despite⁣ the opposition from lawmakers, ‍activists, ⁤and never-Trumpers, others warn ‍against using the clause against the ⁣former ⁣president.

Harvard Law School Professor‍ Emeritus Alan Dershowitz said the notion puts the⁤ Constitution in “grave danger.”

“It ⁤would put‌ the decision⁤ about who the President is in the hands ‍of local⁣ Secretaries of State and Democratic governors, instead⁣ of ⁢in the hands of the‍ people,” Dershowitz told Just the News.

Constitutional ⁤law attorney ⁣and‍ former Trump ally ⁢Jenna Ellis ⁤said in an X-post, “The Left is purposefully calling J6 an ‘insurrection’ to ⁤justify a baseless 14th Amendment ​challenge.”

“It’s like baselessly calling‍ election challenges on behalf of ​a campaign “racketeering”​ to justify a RICO charge,” Ellis, who is also named a co-conspirator in ⁤Trump’s ‌Georgia indictment, said.

And⁢ Fox News host Mark Levin slammed Judge Tribe and ⁢Harvard legal scholar Luttig for writing “a self-humiliating piece” in the ⁢leftwing Atlantic ‌Monthly claiming the constitutional clause stops Trump from being elected ⁤president.

“This has to be one of the truly dumbest essays ever written on the ⁣subject,” Levin ‍said in an X-post. “And it is something ​the Marxist left‌ has been pushing ‌for years against⁣ Trump. Trump aside, they are burning down one ⁤institution after another self-righteously claiming ​that ‍they⁣ are standing up to ‍tyranny and for the republic. ⁢I ⁢will address this‌ on the​ air tonight.”

In April, ⁢Trump’s campaign⁢ team anticipated a​ wave of legal​ challenges thrown at the⁤ former‍ president

Trump’s Response

“What these undemocratic organizations are doing is blatant election interference and tampering,” Trump ⁣campaign spokesman Steven ⁤Cheung said in a statement ‍to the Washington Post. ‌“They are not even⁤ trying to hide it anymore and it is sad they want to‍ deprive‌ the American ‍people of choosing Donald Trump — the ‌overwhelming front-runner by far — ⁢as their President.”

“History ‌will not judge them ⁤kindly,” Cheung added.