A video of a February panel discussion released Monday in which Rep. Jamie Raskin, D-Md., speculated that Congress would have to risk a “civil war” by invalidating former President Donald Trump’s election victory.
It was unclear whether Raskin was actually outlining a plan of action or using hypothetical arguments to argue that the U.S. Supreme Court is placing an undue burden on Congress in an effort to keep Trump from holding office.
Raskin led the House impeachment managers in Trump’s second impeachment trial, accusing him of trying to overturn the results of the 2020 election. He also served on the January 6 committee, but Opposed Regarding the 2017 election results.
In the video, filmed at Politics and Prose bookstore in Washington, D.C., on February 17, 2024, Raskin predicted that the Supreme Court would block Democrats’ efforts to remove Trump from the ballot in several states under Section 3 of the 14th Amendment to the Constitution, and instead say that Congress is responsible for doing so.
Section 3 of the 14th Amendment to the United States Constitution was enacted after the Civil War to bar former Confederate soldiers from holding federal office. Trump haters on both the left and right have tried to argue that Trump committed “insurrection” under the wording of this clause and is therefore barred from running for president again.
Several Democratic-leaning states had excluded Trump from their primary ballots, but in March the Supreme Court unanimously ruled against him, saying Congress, not the states, is responsible for enforcing Section 3 of the 14th Amendment.
Raskin also said that given the Supreme Court’s likely decision, Congress would hypothetically have to take matters into its own hands if Trump were to win the election and spark a “state of civil war” (emphasis added; see 58:39 in the video below).
What I’m saying is, in 2024, we have to be on both defense and offense. Voting rights are under attack in many states in very specific ways, particularly in the Deep South, in Florida, where I just came back from. We’re seeing incredible things happening. For example, if you have to vote by mail or absentee, the only people who can get it delivered to your mailbox or to your polling place are the people who live with you and are part of your nuclear family. So, you have a million traps set up across the country to ensnare the unwary. But at the same time, we have to go on the offensive to define constitutional voting rights that are meaningful for everyone across the country. For the millions of people who have been left behind and disenfranchised, and for all of those whose voting rights have been weakened by this Supreme Court. And I really like the points that both Sharlyn and Jerry Brown made. [Ifill] What Rick and JFK are saying about the Supreme Court, we must remember that for most of American history the Supreme Court was not on the side of the people. All the way up until the Civil War, the Supreme Court was reactionary and conservative. What has the Supreme Court ever done for our slaves? Absolutely nothing except to solidify their position. Dred Scott The court ruled that African Americans had no rights that white people should respect. And even after the Reconstruction Amendments were enacted after the Civil War, in 1896 Plessy v FergusonConstitutionalizing Jim Crow laws. And the Warren Court spent decades litigating white primary elections. Brown v. Board of EducationWe will have a different type of Supreme Court, one that is on the side of liberty and equality for the American people. But the Court will not save us. I mean, the only thing that will really work is people asking for constitutional amendments. But again, that’s necessary, but it’s not sufficient, because anything that can be put into the Constitution can slip away in a flash. And the biggest example that is happening right now is Section 3 of the 14th Amendment. They are trying to make this section disappear with a magic wand. As if it doesn’t exist. It couldn’t be clearer what it says. And they are trying to force this section on Congress so that it will be up to us to tell the Trump mob that goes on a rampage on January 6, 2025 that he is unfit. And then everybody will need bodyguards, and we will have a civil war. And it’s all because nine justices (not all of them, but they don’t have that many cases to hear each year, they don’t have that much work, they have big staffs, they have full guards) don’t want to do their jobs and interpret the meaning of this great 14th Amendment.
Raskin was wrong to claim that “all” of the nine justices would not block Democrats’ efforts to remove Trump. His reference to “strong protections” was also odd, given that Justice Brett Kavanaugh was the target of an assassination attempt in June 2022, and the Justice Department has willfully ignored federal law banning protests outside justices’ private residences, and still refuses to remove protesters from outside Justice Kavanaugh’s home.
Breitbart News has reached out to Raskin’s office for further comment or clarification on his remarks.
Joel B. Pollack is executive editor of Breitbart News. Breitbart News Sunday The show airs Sunday nights from 7 to 10 p.m. (4 to 7 p.m. ET) on SiriusXM Patriot. He is the author of “Agenda: What Trump Should Do in His First 100 Days,” which is available for preorder on Amazon. He also wrote,Trumpian virtue: The lessons and legacy of Donald Trump’s presidency” is available on Audible. He is the 2018 recipient of the Robert Novak Journalism Alumni Fellowship. Follow him on Twitter. Joel Pollack.
