Legal scholars say Trump is disqualified from holding office

–Scholars say under 14^th Amendment, no one may hold high public office who has engaged in insurrection or rebellion against the Constitution.

WASHINGTON – Two conservative legal scholars argued that former President Donald Trump cannot hold the presidential office again under Section 3 of the 14th Amendment.

William Baude of the University of Chicago and Michael Stokes Paulsen of the University of St. Thomas said that the provision states that no one may hold high public office who has engaged in insurrection or rebellion against the Constitution.

They argue that the clause is self-executing and requires immediate removal from office without additional action by the Congress.

They say the provision covers a broad range of former offices, including the president.

“If they engaged in or gave aid and comfort to an insurrection against the constitutional government,” they added, “Section 3 would appear to bar them from holding office again,” said the analysis of legal scholars.

Last September, a New Mexico judge ordered the removal of a county commissioner who took part in the January 6 attack on the U.S. Capitol. The decision marked the first time since 1869 that a court disqualified a public official under Section 3 of the 14th Amendment.

A report by the Washington-based Citizens for Responsibility and Ethics said there was overwhelming evidence that President Trump was the main perpetrator of the insurrection and a participant in it.

Trump, the front-runner for the 2024 Republican primary, is currently facing several criminal charges stemming from his role in trying to overturn the 2020 presidential election and incite the Jan. 6, 2021, uprising.

Special Counsel Jack Smith, who laid out the charges in a 45-page indictment last week, has proposed a trial date of Jan. 2, 2024.