Trump has no immunity from Jan. 6 prosecution, appeals court rules

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[–]Hematomato 1 insightful - 1 fun1 insightful - 0 fun2 insightful - 1 fun -  (2 children)

I think the SCOTUS will do one (or both) of two things:

  1. Create a definition of "insurrection" that applies to Jefferson Davis's actions but not Donald Trump's;

  2. Find that the Fourteenth Amendment is not self-executing and that disqualification from office requires an act of Congress.

[–][deleted] 2 insightful - 1 fun2 insightful - 0 fun3 insightful - 1 fun -  (1 child)

I've read lots of opinions from postings by legal scholars. Defining insurrection hasn't been a problem so far, courts have convicted all those charged and found guilty in the J6th insurrection. Legal scholars would disagree with your second point; the amendment would have included such language were that the case. To be honest, I think SCOTUS is going to take a pass, primarily because the Roberts court doesn't want to be perceived as meddling in the next election like happened in 2000.

[–]Hematomato 1 insightful - 1 fun1 insightful - 0 fun2 insightful - 1 fun -  (0 children)

Defining insurrection hasn't been a problem so far, courts have convicted all those charged and found guilty in the J6th insurrection.

But those two parts of the sentence have nothing to do with each other.

For example, for his role in the events of January 6, Enrique Tarrio, the leader of the Proud Boys, was convicted of Seditious Conspiracy, Obstruction of Congress, Obstruction of Law Enforcement, and Conspiracy, whereupon he was sentenced to 22 years in prison.

Meanwhile, Richard Barnett, who took a stun gun into Nancy Pelosi's office and then took a selfie in her chair, was convicted of Civil Disorder, Disorderly Conduct in a Capitol Building, and Theft of Government Property, and was sentenced to four and a half years in prison.

You'll notice the missing word in both of the paragraphs above: "insurrection." No one has been convicted of "insurrection" because insurrection is not the name of a Federal crime.

So what exactly is "insurrection"? Well, it's definitely "fighting for the Confederacy" - we know the Framers of the Amendment meant that. But we don't know what else they meant. So this is one the SCOTUS really is probably going to have to weigh in on.