Former federal judge: Trump’s violation of 14th amendment ‘couldn’t be any clearer’

Former federal judge Michael Luttig argued Saturday that former President Trump's violation of the 14th Amendment “couldn't be more obvious.”

“Section 3 of the 14th Amendment to the Constitution, as the Colorado Supreme Court has held, could not be more clear that a former president is disqualified from the presidency.” Ruttig told MSNBC's Ali Velshi on Saturday.the third anniversary of the January 6, 2021, attack on the Capitol.

His argument comes just a day after the Supreme Court decided to examine a Colorado ruling on whether Trump could be removed from the state's primary ballot for acts related to the insurrection. It was done later.

Luttig, who said he has spent the past three years considering the amendment, said the high court, which currently leans toward Republicans, would avoid weighing in on whether Trump would be disqualified from running for president again. believes that it is “likely to explore all possible legitimate avenues”. .

But Ruttig said there are “very few, if any, off-ramps” that would allow the nation's highest court to avoid that decision.

The Supreme Court is scheduled to hear oral arguments in the case on February 8th.

The 14th Amendment's Insurrection Clause prohibits any person from holding public office if he or she “participates in an insurrection” after taking a prior oath of support for the Constitution.

Luttig previously argued that the Colorado Supreme Court's decision was not “anti-democratic,” but rather that President Trump's actions that led to his disbarment were anti-democratic.

“What the American people will understand is that, if the Supreme Court rules, the U.S. Constitution prohibits a former president from ever serving as president again,” Luttig said. He said this on Saturday.

“So, it's not a question, if you, it's open to the American people,” he continued. “The U.S. Constitution, subject to the decisions of the U.S. Supreme Court, resolved this issue beginning with the ratification of Section 3 of the Fourteenth Amendment in 1868.”

“The framers of the 14th Amendment had this exact moment in mind, when a president wants to remain in power after losing an election,” Ruttig suggested. He said the disqualification clause is “probably the most democratic clause” in the Constitution.

“This will be one of the most significant Supreme Court decisions since the founding of our nation, both for American democracy and American politics,” he said.