OPINION:
“Unconstitutional? Trump opponents cite 14th Amendment as reason he can’t run” (Web, Aug. 21) discusses a recent Atlantic op-ed by former appellate judge Michael Luttig and law professor Laurence Tribe arguing that the 14th Amendment disqualifies former President Trump from running again because of his involvement in the events of Jan. 6, 2021. Their piece is a shoddy one.
Section 3 of the 14th Amendment holds that any federal or state official who has sworn to uphold the Constitution and then “shall have engaged in insurrection or rebellion against [the Constitution], or given aid and comfort to the enemies thereof,” may not “hold any office, civil or military, under the United States.” Luttig and Tribe claim this language bans Trump from the presidency.
The language listing banned offices is broad, but it’s not clear that it applies to the presidency. The language preceding the ban on all federal offices says the ban applies to senators, House members, presidential electors and the vice president, but it doesn’t mention the president.
Why is the president left off this bill of particulars? Why would drafters who specifically include top government offices rely on general language to include the presidency? It makes sense to exclude the presidency from the ban on the grounds that the American people as a whole can elect whomever they want for president.
Even if Section 3 applies to the president, it is absurd to claim the hours-long Capitol incursion by a relative handful of people is a rebellion, insurrection or an act that gives aid and comfort to an enemy. And even if the incursion fit the Section 3 bill, there’s no evidence thatTrump was complicit in it.
Luttig and Tribe are highly credentialed, but their grounds for disqualifying Trump from running for president are frivolous. Their judgment and analytical chops have fallen prey to Trump Derangement Syndrome.
JIM DUEHOLM
Washington
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