Defendant Trump Disqualified Himself

The “Summer of Justice” has been exciting, watching Trump and his co-conspirators finally being indicted and arraigned in our courts for plotting a coup to obstruct the peaceful transfer of power. This summer has also been filled with trepidation as the defendants’ lawyers file motion after motion designed to delay or move the proceedings, in hopes that a Republican victor in the 2024 elections might pardon all the alleged felons. 

Trump, who has sued and been sued thousands of times in his career, has been ranting more wildly than ever, seemingly aware that this series of cases cannot be brushed aside. Gov. Brian Kemp denied Georgia Republican legislators’ attempt to impeach DA Fani Willis. MAGA Mascot Rep. Marjorie Taylor Greene has threatened to shut down the government to protect her insurrectionist hero, while we watch MAGA minions nationwide seething with racist violence.

In reality, Trump has already disqualified himself from ever running for office again, per Section 3 of the 14th Amendment of our Constitution, now being recommended by both Prof. Laurence Tribe and retired Judge J. Michael Luttig. The clause does not require a criminal conviction. The “Disqualification Clause” was adopted after the Civil War to prevent those who violated their oaths of office by engaging in insurrection from ever running for federal, state, or local office. Our blog discusses activity focused on the Disqualification Clause so far, as well as updates on ongoing litigation.


14th Amendment, Section 3

The 14th Amendment addresses many aspects of citizenship and the rights of citizens, including  qualification and disqualification for holding office.  

Section 3 (the “Disqualification Clause”), adopted after the Civil War to protect American democracy from those disloyal to the Constitution, reads: 

No person shall be a Senator or Representative in Congress, or elector of 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.


Discussion of the Disqualification Clause began pretty much after the insurrection on January 6, 2021. Some people sought to brush aside discussion as concerning an old law that hadn’t been used since 1919. Republicans are nervous about the renewed interest in using the 14th Amendment and have been attempting to portray enforcing the Constitution as a political power grab. 

Citizens undeterred by such ravings have initiated 14th Amendment challenges:

  • AZ: State courts have kept U.S. Reps. Paul Gosar and Andy Biggs and a state legislator on the ballot amid efforts to disqualify them. A judge agreed with the lawmakers that Congress created no enforcement mechanism for the 14th Amendment, barring a criminal conviction.

  • GA:  A federal judge allowed a challenge against Rep. Marjorie Taylor Greene to advance, but a state administrative law judge found there wasn’t sufficient evidence to back voters’ claims that she had engaged in insurrection. GA Secretary of State Brad Raffensperger said Greene was qualified to run. Greene won her primary, and the GA Supreme Court upheld the decision to leave her on the ballot. The federal appeal is pending.

  • NC: a federal judge blocked the state elections board from formally examining whether U.S. Rep. Madison Cawthorn should remain on the state’s May 17, 2022, primary ballot. Cawthorn narrowly lost that election, and later in May a federal appeals court reversed the lower court decision. The panel of the 4th U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals said the trial judge got it wrong when he ruled that an 1872 law that removed office-holding disqualifications from most ex-Confederates also exempted current members of Congress like Cawthorn. The lawsuit was ultimately dismissed as moot because Cawthorn isn’t on the November ballot.

  • NM:  Citizens for Responsibility and Ethics in Washington (CREW), with supportive briefs from the NAACP and Common Cause, won the first 14th Amendment case of this century by representing three plaintiffs in New Mexico who sought to disqualify County Commissioner Couy Griffin from serving in public office due to his having engaged in insurrection on January 6, 2021. On September 6, 2022, state District Court Judge Francis Mathew permanently barred Griffin from federal and local public office. A federal court declined a recent request to reconsider the case. 

This summer, the case that Trump is disqualified was bolstered by the support of some legal heavyweights. William Baude and Michael Stokes Paulsen, two conservative law professors, wrote an article for the University of Pennsylvania Law review in which they argue that disqualification is intended to “embrace a broad range of willful participatory conduct” as qualifying for having “engaged in” insurrection or rebellion. J. Michael Luttig, a conservative former federal judge, and Laurence Tribe, a liberal constitutional law professor, wrote in the Atlantic that “the former president’s efforts to overturn the 2020 presidential election, and the resulting attack on the U.S. Capitol, place him squarely within the ambit of the disqualification clause, and he is therefore ineligible to serve as president ever again."

Michigan Secretary of State Jocelyn Benson has said she is considering using the 14th Amendment to disqualify Trump from the ballot in 2024, adhering closely to applicable law, and will be conferring with secretaries of state in Georgia, Nevada, and Pennsylvania. The legal advocacy group Free Speech for People sent letters to secretaries of state and chief election officials in nine states, asking them to bar Trump from the ballot as a consequence of the 14th Amendment. 

Here in California, activist groups like Indivisible Ventura and MoveOn have been campaigning to get Secretary of State Shirley Weber to disqualify Trump from our ballot. You can sign MoveOn’s petition, or use the Free Speech for the People template to contact Secretary Weber via email at  secretary.weber@sos.ca.gov and share your support for disqualification.



Ongoing Litigation v. Trump

Trump’s trial calendar

These are start dates; we expect these trials to continue for weeks or months.

  • January 15, 2024: E. Jean Carroll Defamation 2

  • January 29, 2024: Videophone Fraud

  • March 4, 2024: January 6 Coup Plotting

  • March 4, 2024 (new date TBD): GA Election Interference RICO Case

  • March 25, 2024: NY Financial Fraud Case

  • May 20, 2024: Classified Documents Unlawful Retention

References & Resources

The 14th Amendment, Section 3

 The  Case for Donald Trump's Disqualification under the 14th Amendment - CREW (Citizens for Responsibility and Ethics in Washington), 7/18/2023

The Constitution’s Disqualification Clause Can Be Enforced Today, POGO (Project on Government Oversight), 11/15/2022 

The Biggest Threat to Donald Trump Could Be the Constitution Itself, The Nation,  8/04/2023

New Mexico Banishes Trump Ally from Office for Insurrection, AP News, 9/06/2022

The Sleeper Legal Fight that Could Define  2024: Is Trump Eligible to Run?, POLITICO, 9/01/2023 

Get Involved: “Election Officials Must Carry Out Their Duty,” - Free Speech For People  and you can sign MoveOn’s petition to our Secretary of State.

Defendant Trump’s Ongoing Trials

Litigation Tracker: Pending Criminal and Civil Cases Against Donald Trump - Just Security , originally published in 2021 but regularly updated

  • JustSecurity.org is an online forum founded in 2013, with expert commentary from individuals with significant government experience, academics, civil society practitioners, individuals directly affected by national security policies, and other leading voices. Managing Editor: Ryan Goodman.

  • Their website is organized into topics and has an excellent section on January 6.


Co-Defendants and Unindicted Co-Conspirators: What Public Records Reveal About Trump Allies’ Election Denial Activities - American Oversight 

  • American Oversight uncovers facts to hold our government accountable by obtaining government documents through FOIA requests.

  • Trump Accountability Archives  – one of various sections on the American Oversight website

MeidasTouch, website of the Meidas Touch Network, which was started by civil rights lawyer Ben Meiselas in March 2020, to inform non-lawyers about alarming ongoing attacks on the rule of law. 

  • Their YouTube channel presents a variety of programming, including their twice weekly “Legal AF” show hosted by MeidasTouch founder Ben Meiselas, national trial lawyer strategist Michael Popok, and Karen Friedman Agnifilo,  former Chief Assistant District Attorney of the Manhattan District Attorney's Office. 

  • Their website is user-friendly and makes it easy to select cases and events for brief summaries.

Quick Reference: Where Truth Matters has handy sections on Trump Trial Calendar, Court Documents, and more

Legal Podcasts: Many of the legal experts you may have seen commenting on MSNBC or CNN have podcasts now. Here are a few you might like:

  • Sisters in Law: Jill Wine Banks, Barbara McQuade, Joyce Vance, and Kimberly Atkins

  • Talking Feds: Harry Litman hosting different groups of former prosecutors

  • Prosecuting Donald Trump: Veteran prosecutors Andrew Weissmann and Mary McCord 

  • Courtside with Neal Katyal (who has argued 52 cases at SCOTUS)

  • Jack: Former FBI Deputy Director Andrew McCabe and Allison Gill focus on Jack Smith cases

  • Cleanup on Aisle 45: Former FBI Counterintelligence Chief Pete Strzok and Allison Gill

  • Justice Matters: Glenn Kirschner

Deep DiveAnna KrasnerTrump trials, Detrumpification