The MeidasTouch Podcast - Trump Could Be DISQUALIFIED IMMEDIATELY under Constitution

Episode Date: August 21, 2023

MeidasTouch host Ben Meiselas reports on how the United States Constitution 14th Amendment Section 3 can be used to disqualify Donald Trump and others. This is the deep dive constitutional analysis you’ve been asking Ben Meiselas for! Thanks to NetSuite! Download NetSuite's KPI checklist absolutely free at NetSuite.com/MEIDAS Remember to subscribe to ALL the Meidas Media Podcasts: MeidasTouch: https://pod.link/1510240831 Legal AF: https://pod.link/1580828595 The PoliticsGirl Podcast: https://pod.link/1595408601 The Influence Continuum: https://pod.link/1603773245 Kremlin File: https://pod.link/1575837599 Mea Culpa with Michael Cohen: https://pod.link/1530639447 The Weekend Show: https://pod.link/1612691018 The Tony Michaels Podcast: https://pod.link/1561049560 American Psyop: https://pod.link/1652143101 Burn the Boats: https://pod.link/1485464343 Majority 54: https://pod.link/1309354521 Political Beatdown: https://pod.link/1669634407 Lights On with Jessica Denson: https://pod.link/1676844320 MAGA Uncovered: https://pod.link/1690214260 Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

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following a law review article by two Federalist Society members, two right-wing legal scholars who call themselves originalists, who did a 126-page originalist interpretation of the 14th Amendment, Section 3, and they arrived at the conclusion that with 100% certainty, the 14th Amendment, Section 3 can and should be used to disqualify Donald Trump and others involved in the insurrection from running for office. Now, it should be used. The question is, at a practical application, will it be used? Is it self-enforcing? What would litigation look like under the 14th Amendment, Section 3. Let's break it all down, but let's talk first about the law review article written by William Boud and Michael Stokes, Paulson II

Federalist Society originalist legal scholars, who wrote a law review article called The Sweep and Force of Section 3. Next, let's talk about how retired Judge Luddig, a former Court of Appeal judge, joined forces with Lawrence Tribe, a Harvard Law scholar. Both have very kind of different judicial and legal philosophies, yet both Larry Tribe, Lawrence Tribe, and retired Judge Michael Luddig also agree with William Boud and Michael Stokes Paulson about the interpretation of the 14th Amendment Section 3. So there is widespread agreement from people who have diametrically different judicial philosophies and theory and people who would normally disagree about different judicial philosophies and theory, and people who would normally disagree about a lot of ways to interpret the Constitution. Mostly every serious legal scholar now agrees, and I stress serious legal scholar,

agrees that the 14th Amendment Section 3 canon should be used to disqualify Donald Trump. So let's get into this law review article, this groundbreaking article by Boud and Paulson, the two law professors. And this is what they say. Section 3 has long since faded into history, but their thesis ultimately is it shouldn't. It says reports of Section 3's demise are greatly exaggerated. It turns out that Section 3 of the 14th Amendment remains of direct and dramatic relevance today, a vital, fully operative rule of constitutional law with potentially far

reaching contemporary real world consequences. Section 3 remains in legal force and has a broad substantive sweep. Here's what it says. Now I'm going to read for you what the 14th Amendment Section 3 says. It says, no person shall be a senator or representative in Congress or elector or president and vice president or hold any office, civil or military, under the United States or under any state who having previously taken an oath as a member of Congress or as an officer of the United States or as a member of any state legislature or as an executive or judicial officer of any state to support the Constitution of the United States shall have engaged in insurrection or rebellion against the same or given aid or comfort to the enemies thereof. But Congress may, by a vote of

two-thirds of each House, remove such disability. And it talks about how this section on the 14th Amendment in general was passed following the Civil War. Then it goes to its four main points about the 14th Amendment. And it basically says, first, section three remains legally operative. It is no less part of the Constitution than other provisions of the 14th Amendment. It is not a dead letter. The Constitution is a binding authoritative written text, not a collection of specific historical purposes and intentions. Where the text applies, it applies. Its legal force is not limited to the immediate problem or purpose that prompted its enactment. Section 3 is not limited

to the circumstances of the Civil War and Reconstruction, even if the meaning of its terms may be illuminated by that experience and history, nor has Section 3 somehow been repealed by Congress's two major 19th century statutes granting amnesty to those covered by Section 3. This is not because it would be impossible for a constitutional provision to expire by its terms after a period of time or upon the occurrence of a particular event or upon action taken by future actors. Article 1, Section 9, for example, created a constitutional prohibition of most congressional regulation of the international slave trade for a period of 20 years, but its prohibition then vanished in 1808. Section 3, however, does not work that way. It imposes a general prospective rule of disqualification, which Congress may remove by

two-thirds vote of both houses only once it has occurred. Section three is prospective. Congressional amnesty is not retrospective. Second, section three is legally self-executing, something I addressed at the outset of this video. That is, Section 3's disqualification is constitutionally automatic whenever its terms are satisfied. Check, Section 3 requires no legislation or adjudication to be legally effective. It is enacted by the enactment of the 14th Amendment. Its disqualification, where triggered, just is. It follows that Section 3's disqualification may and should be followed and carried out by all whose duties are affected by it. In many cases, Section 3 will give rise to judicial controversies

in the courts. In others, it will be enforceable by state and federal officials, but no prior judicial decisions and no implementing legislation is required by Section 3. In other words, it is incumbent on the state proceedings to just not include Donald Trump on the ballot. Sure, that could be justiciable in the sense that Donald Trump could file a lawsuit and say, I want to be on, but you don't have to get judicial permission to remove Trump or insurrectionists. In other words, just take them off the ballot. Their disqualification has already occurred when they supported the insurrectionists.

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at the time it was adopted as part of the Constitution, imposed a disqualification from office based on an individual's past conduct. Even if imposition of such disability might otherwise, if done by statute, have been forbidden ex post facto law or bill of attainder, Section 3 of the 14th Amendment constitutionally supersedes any prior provision conflicting with its terms. The short way to just interpret that is there's no other contradictory statements in the Constitution that would override the 14th Amendment, Section 3. And fourth and finally, Section 3's disqualification is sweeping in its terms. It disqualifies from future office holding persons who engaged in an expansive and encompassing term connoting

many forms of participation, interactive support of a broad swath of activity covered by the terms insurrection or rebellion or the giving of aid or comfort to enemies of the nation or its constitutional order. It applies to a broad swath of civilian, military, and legislative office holders who swore oaths of fidelity to the Constitution, and it disqualifies such persons from holding in the future any of the extraordinary broad swath of public office. Taking Section 3 seriously on its own terms means taking seriously the enormous sweep of the disqualification it creates. And we argue taking Section 3 seriously means that its constitutional disqualification from future state and federal office holding extends to participants in the attempted overturning of

the presidential election of 2020, including former President Donald Trump and others. The substantive terms of Section 3's prohibition are not themselves difficult or inscrutable, even if there might be questions of application at the outer edges of the text meeting, but they are potentially breathtaking in their straightforward consequences, right? And they're saying the consequences are, see you later, Trump. That's it. You are gone. And so next, the question is, well, then how do you apply it? What Baud and Paulson argue here is that the way you apply it is you just apply it. In the States, you don't put Donald Trump on the ballot and let Donald Trump sue to put himself on the ballot. It's self-executing is what they argue. You don't have to request judicial permission or pass a law.

And again, let me reiterate, these are two originalists. These are Federalist Society people. These are people who you would think of would naturally be supportive of somebody who's identifying as a Republican, but as a Republican has gone full MAGA, that has changed. And I'll leave you with this. Let me show you this video right here of Lawrence Tribe joined by retired Judge Michael Luttig. And this is how they describe their interpretation as well. And the fact that they agree with each other, I think is something very significant. Play the clip. What has brought our article forth is some

magnificent scholarship by Professors Baught and Paulson that is forthcoming in a law review from the University of Pennsylvania. Their monumentally important contribution that they have made is that they have demonstrated that what might have been is not, which is to say this. Section 3 of the 14th Amendment means exactly what it plainly and clearly says, specifically, as you just read. Any person who previously has taken the oath of office to support andurrection or rebellion against the United States and the Constitution of the United States shall not thereafter hold, in this instance, the office of the presidency of the United States. That language in the Constitution, Jim, simply could not be any clearer. It is unmistakable in its application to the former president. The only thing that was not known until Professors Baud and Paulson did their scholarly work is whether this was the actual meaning under the original understanding of the Constitution.

And the professors confirmed and demonstrated that indeed it was. So folks, the question then is, you know, what has to happen? And as I said before, it's going to require at the state level, people making the courageous decision and just saying, we're not putting insurrectionists on the ballot. They can do that now. Alternatively, maybe there will be a, you know, when there is a, maybe the epiphany comes, which there should happen now, after there is a conviction of Donald Trump in the Jack Smith case against Donald Trump. But you don't need that. Trump doesn't have to be convicted for him to be removed. It should just be taking place already. But then the question

is, is do you think certain MAGA-controlled legislatures are going to do it? I think that's probably less likely to happen. And I also think as a practical matter as well, MAGA's losing a ton of its support. Republicans are losing a lot of its followers as they've taken over the Republican, as MAGA's taken over the Republican Party, you know, and the question is, do you go this route or not? But I wanted to give you the legal analysis, why it's being talked about right now, and explain to you the kind of significant bipartisan support of really everybody other than members of Congress, the MAGA Republicans in the House, the MAGA Republicans in state legislatures too, MAGA Republicans in the Senate, our kind of full Trump cult. If they weren't, this would actually

be fairly, I think, easy to implement and there would be broad consensus to do it. I'm Ben Mycelis from the Midas Touch Network. Hit subscribe. We're on our way to 1.5 million subscribers and check us out as well at MidasTouch.com for all of the new breaking news. MidasTouch.com, the new homepage for all things Midas Touch. Have a great day. At Midas Touch, we are unapologetically pro-democracy and we demand justice and accountability. That's why we're spreading our message to Convict45. That's right. Gear up right now with your Convict45 tees and pins at store.midastouch.com.

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