This story was originally published by the WND News Center.
Some voters in a leftist state with a strong anti-Trump agenda are taking the lead in pushing a "highly suspect constitutional theory" intended to keep him off the 2024 presidential ballot by simply declaring him unqualified.
"No adjudication. No judge. No jury. Just the Left declaring him 'disqualified' for office," explained a commentary from Jordan Sekulow at the American Center for Law and Justice.
The Center Square explains it is in Colorado where some voters have sued seeking a court order banning President Donald Trump from the Republican presidential primary ballot.
The report explains the 115-page complaint claims Trump can't be on the ballot because of the 14th Amendment, which "states anyone who took an oath to support the Constitution and then 'engaged in insurrection or rebellion against the same,' … cannot hold a state or federal office."
It dates to the post-Civil War period when individuals who fought for the Confederacy were returning to be members of Congress.
But the premise conflating Trump's criticism of faults in the 2020 election and the Civil War seems extreme, critics say. Further, Trump never has even been charged with anything like insurrection.
Nevertheless, the plaintiffs are demanding that the courts and election officials accept their word that Trump "engaged in" insurrection over the Jan. 6, 2021, events at the Capitol.
Trump has noted, "Almost all legal scholars have voiced opinions that the 14th Amendment has no legal basis or standing relative to the upcoming 2024 Presidential Election."
Jordan Sekulow, online, explained the use of the obscure provision and making wild claims about "insurrection," is just another part of "The radical Left’s crusade to ban former President Donald Trump from office."
He noted, "The 14th Amendment was ratified just a few years after the Civil War ended to ensure insurrectionists didn’t take office. Of course, the definition of an 'insurrection' was pretty clear back in the 1860s, but the definition becomes much murkier the further we get away from the Civil War era. Trying to compare the Civil War to the events of January 6, 2021, is absurd. Also, how convenient is it that liberals in Congress all of a sudden now have a 'proper' understanding of the Constitution for the first time?"
But he warned, "If the Left is successful with this highly suspect constitutional theory, Trump won’t be on the ballots in a handful of states after Secretaries of State in different states decide to go along with the electoral ploy. All that the Left would need are five or seven states (or swing states) to decide they don’t want Trump on the state’s 2024 presidential ballot.
"Don’t forget that Trump has never been formally charged with insurrection. This would be far-Left state officials unilaterally declaring Trump to be an insurrectionist. No adjudication. No judge. No jury. Just the Left declaring him 'disqualified' for office."
And he further warns about what could be next.
"And if the Left could do that to Trump (without going through proper legal channels), what else could they do to interfere in future elections? The election would be over before it even started. Is this not election interference by the Left?"
He said the ACLJ is ready to send a legal letter to all 50 state secretaries of state, "putting them on notice that such an abuse of the 14th Amendment is unconstitutional."
Lawsuits could follow, he said.
"We will have a constitutional crisis on our hands if the Left goes down this road. ... The future of our democracy is at stake, and we will be ready to fight."
