JoJo from Jerz – few can wrap up so much truth in such short time (3:10)

She lays out a great case. No one can seriously say that Trump is not a criminal. As Politics Girl points out Trump was (and probably still is) involved in crimes and conspiracies to overthrow the elected government, to overturn an election and there is that matter of the top secret documents that he stole from the government on his way out the door.

As one person told me the other day. – that is not a “missing documents case” – no – it is an espionage case. Trump stole and probably has disseminated those documents. Espionage against his own country. Kind of turns the stomach, doesn’t it?

Perhaps, perhaps there is an answer to stopping this monster from seizing control of the government and ending democracy. He almost did it last time. That was just a practice run. 

Several legal eagles are looking at the 3rd clause of the 14th amendment that makes it unconstitutional for someone who engaged in an insurrection to hold office:

Section 3.

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. 

Looks pretty clear to me. Two conservative (members of the Federalist Society even – University of Chicago professor William Baude and University of St. Thomas professor Michael Stokes Paulsen) law professors have written a paper arguing that the 14th amendment is very clear and should be used to keep Donald Trump from an attempt to be president again:  

“The most politically explosive application of Section Three to the events of January 6, is at the same time the most straightforward,” Baude and Paulsen write. “Former President Donald J. Trump is constitutionally disqualified from again being President (or holding any other covered office) because of his role in the attempted overthrow of the 2020 election and the events leading to the January 6 attack.”

The consequences of this argument are astonishing. On Baude and Paulsen’s read, Section 3 is “self-executing” — meaning it does not require an act of Congress to enter force and binds those public officials in the position to act on its dictates. Basically, if a single official anywhere in the US electoral system finds their constitutional analysis compelling, Baude and Paulsen urge them to act on it.

“No official should shrink from these duties. It would be wrong — indeed, arguably itself a breach of one’s constitutional oath of office — to abandon one’s responsibilities of faithful interpretation, application, and enforcement of Section Three,” they write.

The story goes deeply into legal arguments and how the amendment would be applied to Trump. I doubt he will simply end his candidacy because of this. What many legal scholars expect is that some brave state level Secretaries of State will deny Trump be included as a candidate due to his 14th amendment status. 

That will kick off lawsuits that will have an expedited status because they are dealing with the election. These lawsuits will be brought to the SCOTUS quickly because they deal with the elections. Would the current lineup on SCOTUS agree that Trump is in violation of the insurrection clause? Right now, my guess is that Thomas and Alito would be the only votes to back Trump, but one could easily see three more.

Stay tuned. I have no doubt some state will find a way to invoke the insurrection clause of the 14th amendment. 

Let me add that it is so sad to see Iowa Republicans rallying around a guy who has pretty openly flaunted the law and any social conventions. This is a person who could care less if he hurts anyone else as long as he gets his. I had always thought Iowans had some kind of innate judgmental ability due to the reality of farm and small town life. 

Nope looks like they can easily fall for the lying salesman just as easily as anyone else. But then they fall for Kim Reynold’s schtick day after day.