Is Trump Eligible to Run Again?
Minnesota Supreme Court to hear arguments Nov. 2 in Trump ballot challenge
Led by former Secretary of State Joan Growe, group questions whether U.S. Constitution allows Trump on the ballot.
The state Supreme Court will hear oral arguments Nov. 2 on the bipartisan constitutional challenge to former President Donald Trump's presence on the 2024 presidential ballot.
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Here's the part of the Constitution in question..
14th Amendment
Section 3.
No person shall be a Senator or Representative in Congress, or elector of President and Vice-President, or hold any office, civil or military, under the United States, or under any State, who, having previously taken an oath, as a member of Congress, or as an officer of the United States, or as a member of any State legislature, or as an executive or judicial officer of any State, to support the Constitution of the United States, shall have engaged in insurrection or rebellion against the same, or given aid or comfort to the enemies thereof. But Congress may by a vote of two-thirds of each House, remove such disability.
I see two problems with challenging Trump's eligibility based on the 14th Amendment..
First, did he engage in insurrection or rebellion or give idd and comfort to our enemies? There's been no court case, so far, determining that he did. We know, though, that the drafters of the 14th Amendment did not intend to require a court determination of criminal guilt. This part of the 14th Amendment applied to Confederates, even though there was no plan to criminally prosecute them.
Second, was Trump an "officer" of the United States? That's the more difficult question. The only category of people to which Section 3 of the 14th Amendment applies that might include Trump is "officer." Is the Presidency an office? We will surely find out before the 2024 election! It should provide a fun history of the word "officer." I frequently hear people refer to the "office of the President." Personally, I think that's a modern use of the word, and I don't think the drafters of the 14th Amendment used the word "officer" as we use it today. I think people appointed by the President to positions of authority are officers, not the President himself.
There are decades where nothing happens; and there are weeks where decades happen.