Supreme Court must decide whether Trump remains eligible to be president
Jan. 1 − To the Editor:
We all know, by virtue of our own eyes and ears, and by the testimony of his own administration officials, that Donald Trump was responsible for the January 6 insurrectionist attack on the Capitol, an attack which was precipitated by his colossal election fraud against the American people. He was responsible for the attack because he incited it, abetted it and actually tried to join it in person. Then, once it started, he did nothing to stop it in a timely manner.
Trump’s election fraud and his subsequent support for the attack on the Capitol were a clear violation of his oath of office, as well as being criminal acts. So there should be no doubt in anyone’s mind that it is right and proper that Trump be held accountable for his treacherous behavior in accordance with the 14th Amendment to the Constitution, which would bar him form holding office.
However, the removal of a person from state ballots, as in Colorado and Maine, is not the correct way to bar a national candidate from office. It would inevitably lead to the untenable situation that some states would take the candidate off their ballots while others would not. This could lead to disruptive litigation and retaliatory partisan behavior on the part of some state legislatures, the consequences of which are hard to imagine.
So instead of 50 states making controversial decisions about denying ballot access, there should be a judicial process at the federal level to determine whether a candidate for national office meets the criteria for being barred from office per the 14th Amendment. If that candidate meets the criteria, then he or she is barred from holding office and any decisions made by individual states regarding ballot access for that candidate would be moot. Denial of ballot access might still be contested by candidates, but regardless of the outcome, the candidate would still be prohibited from holding office.
This process of debarment could occur at any time, either before or after an election. But, either way, the candidate could be barred from office per the 14th Amendment, even if elected. So if Trump were elected, he could still be taken to court at any time to bar or remove him from office for his prior attacks on our democracy. Of course, Congress could still override any debarment decision it thought unjust, or even preempt it, by a two-thirds vote of each House.
This non-political, judicial approach would certainly be preferable to the potential chaos of allowing the 14th Amendment to be invoked at the state level for national candidates. If possible, the Supreme Court should rule accordingly and then immediately make the determination of whether Trump meets the criteria for debarment from office. If he does meet the criteria, then we can all breathe a sigh of relief and go back to our normal lives where actions have consequences and the rule of law prevails. If he doesn’t meet the criteria, then woe is us.
Ron Sheppe Rochester