- Nearly 40 Democrats have joined Rep. David Cicilline’s effort to bar former President Donald Trump from taking office again
- The Rhode Island Democrat introduced legislation Thursday citing Article 3 of the 14th Amendment known as the ‘Disqualification Clause’
- It bars individuals from holding office if they ‘engaged in insurrection or rebellion against the same, or given aid or comfort to the enemies thereof’
Nearly 40 Democrats have joined Rep. David Cicilline’s effort to bar former President Donald Trump from taking office again, using a portion of the 14th Amendment meant for ex-Confederates.
The Rhode Island Democrat introduced legislation Thursday citing Article 3 of the 14th Amendment known as the ‘Disqualification Clause,’ which bans individuals from holding office if they ‘engaged in insurrection or rebellion against the same, or given aid or comfort to the enemies thereof.’
‘Donald Trump very clearly engaged in an insurrection on January 6, 2021 with the intention of overturning the lawful and fair results of the 2020 election,’ Cicilline said in a statement. ‘You don’t get to lead a government you tried to destroy.’
Cicilline first floated the bill to colleagues on November 15, the night Trump announced he was seeking the White House again.
‘Given the proof – demonstrated through the January 6th Committee Hearings, the 2021 impeachment trial, and other reporting – that Donald Trump engaged in insurrection on January 6th with the intention of overturning the lawful 2020 election results, I have drafted legislation that would preven Donald Trump from holding public office again under the Fourteenth Amendment,’ Cicilline wrote in a letter obtained by The Hill newspaper.
Cicilline told his colleagues that the bill ‘details testimony and evidence demonstrating how Donald Trump engaged in insurrection against the United States,’ pointing to the work of the Democrat-led January 6 House select committee, which will likely be disbanded once Republicans take control of the House.
‘It specifically details how Donald Trump engaged in insurrection when he helped to plan and encouraged the insurgence on January 6th despite knowing that the election results were lawful; attempted to intimidate state and federal officials when they did not support his false claims and unlawful plans; tried to manipulate Mike Pence into unlawfully refusing to certify the election results, despite Mr. Pence’s and legal advisors’ assertion that he held no such authority; and supported the violent insurrection at the Capitol on January 6th, refusing for hours to denounce or act against the mob and putting thousands of lives in danger,’ Cicilline’s letter read, according to The Hill.
Groups in Georgia and North Carolina tried to use the same legal reasoning to get Republican Reps. Marjorie Taylor Greene and Madison Cawthorn, respectively, off the ballot in their states.
Republican primary voters in North Carolina did the job for them, ousting Cawthorn after he made a number of controversial statements about Congressional drug use and ‘orgies’ happening in Washington, D.C.
Greene, however, won her reelection race in Georgia in November.
One problem with using Fourteenth Amendment, according to the Congressional Research Service, is that the text is vague.
‘It is unclear whether Section 3 is self-executing, which, if it is not, would leave federal and state courts or election authorities without power to determine the eligibility of candidates unless Congress enacts legislation to permit it,’ a CRC report said.
Cicilline’s bill would attempt to clarify the process.
