Hearings began this week on whether the 14th Amendment disqualifies Donald Trump from running for president in 2024 because of his actions around the Jan. 6 attack on the U.S. Capitol.
On Monday morning in Denver, a historic five-day evidentiary hearing began for a lawsuit filed against Trump by six Republican and unaffiliated Colorado voters represented by the watchdog group Citizens for Responsibility and Ethics in Washington (CREW).
A similar hearing is set for Thursday in Minneapolis.
CREW President Noah Bookbinder has said that his organization brought its suit in Colorado because “it is necessary to defend our republic both today and in the future.” The group’s complaint accuses Trump of inciting and aiding the mob at the Capitol two years ago, which he denies. He was impeached on similar charges but acquitted by Republicans in the Senate.
Except, that’s not what the constitution says.
None of the people disbarred from office by the 14th were ever convicted of anything.
The whole point of the 14th amendment is that it is self-executing. No conviction is necessary.
And everyone who has sworn an oath (or otherwise has a duty) to uphold the constitution must abide by it.
You might find that unreasonable, but if so, then you must amend the constitution to remove the 14th, otherwise it remains the Supreme law of the land.
Trump probably unironically believes he has tried to uphold the constitution. Ignorance of the law is only a crime for plebs like you and I, not police or presidents.