麻豆社事件

After three indictments of former President Donald Trump, came not as a surprise but as a powerful exposition of the scope of Trump鈥檚 efforts to remain in power despite losing the 2020 presidential election.

New spells out how and why those actions鈥攚hich were observed by the public over many months鈥攄isqualify Trump from serving in the presidency ever again. And our read of the Georgia indictment, , shows why and how that disqualification can be put into effect.

The key to all of this is the , which states that 鈥淣o person shall 鈥� hold any office 鈥� under the United States 鈥� who, having previously taken an oath 鈥� 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.鈥� Trump took that oath at his inauguration on Jan. 20, 2017.

Both Trump鈥檚 Georgia indictment and his federal indictment in Washington, D.C., cite largely public information鈥攁nd some newly unearthed material鈥攖o spell out exactly how he engaged in efforts to rebel against the Constitution, and sought and gave aid and comfort to others who also did so.

Legal scholars William Baude and Michael Stokes Paulsen, , have recently published a paper declaring that under the 14th Amendment, .

We believe the Georgia indictment provides even more detail than the earlier federal one about how Trump鈥檚 actions have already disqualified him from office, and shows a way to keep him off the ballot in 2024.

Disqualification Is Automatic

Trump鈥檚 supporters might argue that disqualifying him would be unfair without a trial and conviction on the , and perhaps the Georgia charges.

But Baude and Paulsen, using 鈥攖he interpretive theory of choice of the powerful Federalist Society and Trump鈥檚 conservative court appointees, which gives full of the Constitution鈥攄emonstrate that no legal proceeding is required. They say disqualification is automatic, or what鈥檚 known in the legal world as 鈥渟elf-executing.鈥�

Recent public comments from and conservative jurist and former federal judge Michael Luttig鈥攚ho has characterized the events before, during, and since Jan. 6 as Trump鈥檚 鈥溾�濃�攕uggest an emerging bipartisan consensus supporting Baude and Paulsen.

Backed by History

This is not a theoretical bit of technical law. was, in fact, extensively used after the Civil War to in the federal government, without being tried or convicted of any crime.

associated with secession, rebellion, and open war against the United States. And most were pardoned by .

But even though they had no relevant convictions, former Confederates were in fact barred from office in the U.S.

In December 1865, several who had neither been convicted nor pardoned tried to claim seats in the U.S. House of Representatives. But the House clerk . It took an act of Congress鈥斺�攖o later restore their office-holding rights.

There is no requirement in the Constitution that the disqualification be imposed 鈥攐nly that it applies to people who take certain actions against the Constitution.

A Path Through the States

For the U.S. in 2023, we believe the most realistic avenue to enforce the 14th Amendment鈥檚 ban on a second Trump presidency is through state election authorities. That鈥檚 where the Georgia indictment comes in.

State election officials could themselves, or in response to a petition of a citizen of that state, refuse Trump a place on the 2024 ballot because of the automatic 14th Amendment disqualification.

Trump would certainly challenge the move in federal court. But the recent disqualification proceedings against provide affirming the 14th Amendment as a valid legal ground for disqualification of a candidate for federal office.

The Georgia indictment against Trump and allies exhaustively details extensive against Georgia officials, as well as a fraudulent fake elector scheme to illegally subvert the legitimate 2020 Georgia presidential vote tally and .

Trump鈥檚 failure to accomplish what is tantamount to a coup in Georgia and other swing states , that sought to achieve the same result鈥擳rump鈥檚 fraudulent installation to a second term.

In fact, the Georgia scheme is as one of the methods and means in 鈥渁id鈥� of the larger Jan. 6 federal conspiracy against the United States.

that 鈥渋nsurrection and rebellion鈥� are traditionally associated with forced or violent opposition. But we see the broader set of actions by Trump and his allies to subvert the Constitution鈥攖he Georgia vote count and fake elector scheme included鈥攁s part of a political coup d鈥櫭﹖at. It was a rebellion.

Georgia As a Bellwether

So what makes the Georgia scheme and indictment compelling for purposes of disqualifying Trump from the 2024 Georgia ballot?

There are minimally six aspects that we believe justify Georgia鈥攗nder Section 3 of the post鈥揅ivil War Fourteenth Amendment鈥攌eeping Trump off the ballot:

1. The racketeering scheme was a multifaceted attempt to subvert Georgia鈥檚 own part of the 2020 electoral process;
2. The officials on the receiving end of the unsuccessful racketeering scheme were elected and appointed Georgia officials. 鈥�
3. 鈥� whose actions to reject election subversion vindicated their own oaths to uphold the Constitution and laws of the United States as well as Georgia鈥檚;
4. Most of these officials were and are Republicans鈥攊ncluding Secretary of State , , and ;
5. These officials will, in 2024 as in 2020, to be on Georgia鈥檚 presidential ballot; and
6. , and related evidence, is at the heart of the proof of the Georgia racketeering case against Trump.

In other words, the evidence to convict Trump in the Georgia racketeering case is the same evidence, coming from the same Georgia officials, who will be involved in determining whether, under the 14th Amendment, Trump is qualified to be on the 2024 presidential ballot鈥攐r not.

Little if any additional evidence or proceedings are needed. The Georgia officials already hold that evidence, because much of it comes from them. They don鈥檛 need a trial to establish what they already know.

How could Trump avoid this happening? A quick trial date in Atlanta with an acquittal on all counts might do it, but this runs counter to his strategy to delay all the pending criminal cases until after the 2024 election.

With no preelection trial, there will likely be no Trump on the 2024 Georgia ballot, and no chance for him to win Georgia鈥檚 2024 electoral college votes.

Once Georgia bars him, other states may follow. That would leave Trump with no way to credibly appear on the ballot in all 50 states, giving him no chance to win the electoral votes required to claim the White House.

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