OPINION | January 6 Commission Should Use 14th Amendment on Trump

Aside from a relatively brief mention in the 800-page report, the January 6 commission missed the desired constitutional punishment for former high-ranking officials turning rebel. The commission is trying to convince Americans that criminal prosecution is the only appropriate response to Donald Trump’s coordinated efforts to overturn the 2020 election.

The largely forgotten debate over ratification of the 14th Amendment points to a better, less divisive approach. Today, this amendment is best known for Section 1, which guarantees “equal protection of the law”. At the time of the 1868 debate, however, Section 3 — keeping the rebels out of future electoral offices — was the hot issue.

Section 3 targeted former US Senator Jefferson Davis, a rebellious Confederate president, and other leaders who plotted to overthrow the US Constitution. These men “took an oath…to uphold the Constitution of the United States” before the Civil War, and later betrayed their oath by participating in “riots” or “mutiny” during the conflict. Section 3 explicitly prohibited holding “any civil or military office under the United States” unless “two-thirds of each House” of Congress lifted the ban.

Congressional supporters of the amendment have made it clear they are following the path laid out by Abraham Lincoln in his second inaugural address. In the words of Ohio Republican Rep. John Bingham, a major draftsman and disqualification clause, the disqualification clause “is an act of pardon by the American people, and I consider it unparalleled in the history of our nation.” promises.”

This “forgiveness” was a matter of life and death for Davis, who had been imprisoned by the Union forces since his capture by them at the end of the war in 1865. Had the 14th Amendment been rejected, he would almost certainly have been convicted of treason. and he was immediately executed. However, as soon as the amendment was ratified, the Army dropped the charges and released Davis.

After ratification, Congress quickly passed legislation implementing the amendments. Although later Congress pardoned many former Confederate members by his two-thirds vote necessary, Davis remained disqualified until his death in 1889. their full “political power” by rejoining the Confederacy and leaving the past behind. Davis survived and published his autobiography that helped advance the myth of the Civil War’s lost cause, but the government did not make him a martyr to that cause.

The Jan. 6 committee, in calling for criminal prosecution of Trump, ignores the principles of Lincolnism embodied in the 14th Amendment. Commission members may also underestimate the difficulty of criminal prosecution. Assuming he is indicted, Trump won’t be facing a jury anytime soon as his lawyers have shown a remarkable ability to drag out trials. was able to continue freely.

As former President Gerald Ford explained when pardoning his predecessor Richard M. Nixon, who resigned amid the scandal, he explained: And our people will again be polarized. ”

Special Counsel Jack Smith and Attorney General Merrick Garland learned a lesson from Ford’s warning that the newly elected Congress should pass the amendment referred to in one paragraph by the 6 January Commission. Serious consideration of criminal prosecution should be deferred until we have had the opportunity to consider Article 14 options. The bill, already proposed by Democrats Debbie Wasserman Schultz (Florida) and Jamie B. Ruskin (Maryland), would grant special jurisdiction to a three-judge federal court in the District of Columbia, It will decide within three months whether or not Trump is involved. The attack on the Capitol was the equivalent of a “mutiny.” The Panel’s decisions are automatically subject to review by the Supreme Court.

This is an urgent business. If Congress doesn’t act quickly to enact the Schultz-Ruskin proposal, the question of Trump’s political future could drag on until 2024, when the next election is in full swing and courts tend to let voters decide. increase.

American history is marked by moments of political evasion and moments of sheer valor. A Congress, led by Republicans willing to break with the extremists within their party, is determined to put an end to the tragedy of January 6 and enable Americans to lead the country on the road to a post-Trump future. should.