Keeping Trump From Running Again

 

The House of Representatives will vote tomorrow on a resolution to impeach neo-fascist demagogue and mentally unstable con man Donald "Mango Mussolini" Trump for incitement to insurrection. Contained in it is a provision barring him from future office. With Republicans led by corrupt human-turtle hybrid Moscow Mitch McConnell controlling the Senate for the next few days, the article of impeachment will lay on his desk without further action. Even with Dem control of the Senate and House after January 20, the two-thirds Senate majority necessary to convict Trump won't be there. 

Law professors Bruce Ackerman and Gerard Magliocca suggest that there's a better way of ensuring that Trump (and others instigating the January 6 insurrection) won't be allowed to run for public office:

"Section 3 of the 14th Amendment, passed in the aftermath of the Civil War, bars Trump from holding another federal office if he is found to have 'engaged in insurrection or rebellion against' the Constitution of the United States.

The finding could be accomplished by a simple majority vote of both houses, in contrast to the requirement in impeachment proceedings that the Senate vote to convict by a two-thirds majority. Congress would simply need to declare that Trump engaged in an act of 'insurrection or rebellion' by encouraging the attack on the Capitol. Under the 14th Amendment, Trump could run for the White House again only if he were able to persuade a future Congress to, 'by a vote of two-thirds of each House, remove such disability.'”

The authors acknowledge the Trump could take the case to court, however:

"But this would be risky, since Trump would be required to testify under oath in response to detailed questioning by the government’s lawyers about his precise conduct during the attack.

Moreover, if the judiciary finally upheld the congressional determination, its judgment would undermine claims by the extreme right that Trump is a victim of a partisan vendetta."  (our emphasis)

We trust Dem lawyers and lawmakers are aware of this provision, and will utilize it when, as expected, McConnell stalls them one last time before they gain the majority.