The US Supreme Court is likely to soon determine whether Donald Trump is eligible to run for president in 2024, former federal judge Michael Luttig said on Sunday. Via The Guardian:
Some legal experts believe Trump could be disqualified under section 3 of the 14th amendment. The measure bars someone from holding federal office if they have “previously taken an oath … to support the constitution” and subsequently “engaged in insurrection or rebellion against the same”. Interpreting that language, Luttig and some other prominent conservative scholars have concluded Trump’s actions on January 6 and his efforts to overturn the 2020 election bar him from running for president.
Other scholars have been more skeptical of a disqualification claim, questioning whether Trump’s conduct actually amounted to insurrection.
The provision has never been enforced and it is unclear what the exact mechanism for doing so would be. Secretaries of state, who are charged with overseeing candidate eligibility requirements, are studying how the process will probably play out.
“This is one of the most fundamental questions that could ever be decided under our constitution,” Luttig said on Sunday during an appearance on MSNBC’s Velshi. “And it will be decided by the Supreme Court of the United States sooner rather than later, and most likely before the first primaries.”
