Colorado Secretary of State Jena Griswold (D) called former President Trump a “liar,” after he suggested a recent push to use the 14th Amendment to keep him off the ballot in the state was “electio…
That’s like saying felons being blocked from voting or owning guns isn’t a penalty, it’s a qualification issue.
If you’re making the argument that it’s a consequence of criminal action, it very much is a penalty. But people don’t face legal consequences without convictions.
As I mentioned elsewhere, the amendment was written the way it was to bar ALL members of the Confederacy from elected office after the Civil War ended. They engaged in insurrection so they were disqualified. They weren’t all brought to trial afterwards and convicted of anything.
It does though. Impeachment, on it’s own, doesn’t bar someone from office, the conviction in the Senate does. Not convicted? Not barred from office.
If you aren’t convicted then you’re simply accused and all accused have the presumption of innocence.
In Trump’s case, yeah, I don’t LIKE it either. But let’s focus on convicting him first so there’s absolutely zero question on barring him from office.
That is true in terms of penalizing someone criminally, but this wouldn’t be a criminal penalization. This would be a qualification issue.
That’s like saying felons being blocked from voting or owning guns isn’t a penalty, it’s a qualification issue.
If you’re making the argument that it’s a consequence of criminal action, it very much is a penalty. But people don’t face legal consequences without convictions.
As I mentioned elsewhere, the amendment was written the way it was to bar ALL members of the Confederacy from elected office after the Civil War ended. They engaged in insurrection so they were disqualified. They weren’t all brought to trial afterwards and convicted of anything.
Forswearing the states and joining the Confederacy was a provable action though.
You can’t prove Trump engaged in insurrection without a conviction, and, again, “Well, just LOOK at him!” is not a valid legal argument.
He aided and comforted convicted insurrectionists.
The right will question it regardless. So how about we make not handing all of the nukes to that traitorous piece of shit our top priority.