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How the 14th Amendment prohibition for Insurrection can be used against Trump [1]

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Date: 2023-08-12  

In New Mexico Lawyers from C.R.E.W. successfully sued againsts MAGA politician Couy Griffin — head of “Cowboys from Trump” — and managed to have him legally disqualified from office due to his participation in the January 6 Insurrection.

SANTA FE — A New Mexico judge ordered Otero County Commissioner Couy Griffin be removed from office, effective immediately, ruling that the attack on the Capitol was an insurrection and that Griffin’s participation in it disqualified him under Section 3 of the 14th Amendment. This decision marks the first time since 1869 that a court has disqualified a public official under Section 3, and the first time that any court has ruled the events of January 6, 2021 an insurrection. Section 3 of the 14th Amendment, also known as the Disqualification Clause, bars any person from holding federal or state office who took an “oath…to support the Constitution of the United States” as an “officer of any State” and then “engaged in insurrection or rebellion” or gave “aid or comfort” to insurrectionists. Griffin, as an Otero County Commissioner since January 2019, took an oath to “support and uphold the Constitution and laws of the State of New Mexico, and the Constitution of the United States.” “This is a historic win for accountability for the January 6th insurrection and the efforts to disrupt the peaceful transfer of power in the United States. Protecting American democracy means ensuring those who violate their oaths to the Constitution are held responsible,” said CREW President Noah Bookbinder. “This decision makes clear that any current or former public officials who took an oath to defend the U.S. Constitution and then participated in the January 6th insurrection can and will be removed and barred from government service for their actions.”

This was a historic event, but it also provide a guide for how this section of the 14th Amendment could also be used to disqualify Trump from regaining office.

Here Noah Bookbinder of C.R.E.W. speaks with Chris Hayes.

This method can be used against Trump, certainly in New Mexico. Using the findings of this court, depending on the laws in the states, this strategy could also be used in various other swing states such as Michigan, Pennsylvania, Arizona, Wisconsin and Georgia that be used to remove Trump from the ballot in those states.



If Trump isn’t on the ballot, and naturally since he would be banned even writing his name in would be banned, he wouldn’t be able to reach 270 electoral votes even if he does win several other major states such as Texas and Florida.

This is something that C.R.E.W. is actively persuing.

Should Donald Trump seek reelection to the presidency or any other office, Citizens for Responsibility and Ethics in Washington will pursue his disqualification under the Fourteenth Amendment for engaging in the January 6th insurrection. In a letter sent to the former president today, CREW President Noah Bookbinder outlined how Section 3 of the Fourteenth Amendment bars anyone who engaged in insurrection against the Constitution they swore to defend from holding office, and let Trump know that CREW is prepared to take action. Nearly four years to the day after swearing an oath to the Constitution, Trump incited an insurrection that culminated in a violent attack on Congress. “The evidence that Trump engaged in insurrection is overwhelming,” Bookbinder said. “We are ready, willing and able to take action to make sure the Constitution is upheld and Trump is prevented from holding office.”

Stay tuned, this could get interesting — and juicy.

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[1] Url: https://www.dailykos.com/stories/2023/8/12/2186834/-How-the-14th-Amendment-prohibition-for-Insurrection-can-be-used-against-Trump

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