Retired Federal Judge J. Michael Luttig said Thursday on MSNBC’s “Morning Joe” that he believed the Constitution requires the Supreme Court to allow the disqualification of former President Donald Trump from state ballots.
Co-host Mika Brzezinski said, “A lot of people have said, ‘Oh, they will keep Trump on the ballot because they don’t want the public to lose confidence in the court. They don’t want the Supreme Court interfering in elections. It will make people uncomfortable.’ Is that what this is about, or is it about whether or not Donald Trump engaged in insurrection and then sort of gave safety and comfort to those who participated in the insurrection alongside with him?”
Luttig said, “It’s the latter. Section 3 disqualifies any person who engaged in an insurrection or rebellion against the Constitution of the United States, having previously taken an oath to support the Constitution. There’s no question whatsoever that the former president engaged in an insurrection against the Constitution when he attempted to remain in power beyond his constitutional term of four years and denied President Joe Biden the powers of the presidency to which he was entitled, having won the election by a vote of the American people. All of this prevented the peaceful transfer of power for the first time in American history.”
He added, “This is precisely the insurrection that disqualifies one under Section 3 of the 14th amendment. So you’re right, that is the only legal issue. But there are such massive political consequences, that although the Supreme Court ought not consider those undoubtedly they will consider them, but the Constitution requires the disqualification of the former president.”
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