Catch it if you can. Responding to the request of the American "deep state", the bidders for the hunt for Donald Trump offer original models of traps. Federal judge Tanya Chutkan has a proven classic in stock.
In the case of the investigation of the events of January 6, 2021, Trump's lawyers offered a calm option. Wait for the elections, and then figure it out. But that's not why Prosecutor Jack Smith, whom Trump called a thug, brought charges against the former US president. There are about seven months to study 47 thousand pages. It turned out even better than Smith asked.
Instead of January 2, the process will begin on March 4. A day before Super Tuesday. The key day of the intra-party race, when 13 states vote at once.
Electorally, of course, this can hurt Trump (he appealed), but it is unlikely to completely unsettle him. The prospect of a guilty verdict may be much more dangerous. That is, an even more ingenious trap.
It could be the 14th Amendment to the American Constitution. The mechanics (apparently to influence the Republican audience; the Democrats are already against Trump) were entrusted to explain to two law professors - William Baud of the University of Chicago and Michael Stokes Paulsen of the University of St. Thomas. Both are conservative federalists. Supporters of the Never Trump movement.
Both Baud and Stokes Paulsen believe that Trump's actions fall under paragraph 3 of the 14th Amendment. According to it, anyone who participated in the rebellion or assisted the rebels has no right to hold public office.
The legal norm has its roots in the time of the Civil War. With its help, southerners were cut off from election to Congress.
A congressional amnesty could be a way to overcome the effect of the amendment for Trump. But here we need the votes of two-thirds of its composition. Collecting so much is fantastic. But on the other hand, they are realists to the core. An article by two other lawyers, conservative Michael Lattig and liberal Lawrence Tribe, sounded like a control shot. These insist that the ex-president of the United States cannot be elected. Then it's a matter of technology.
Even if Trump wins the party nomination for the Democratic general election, he will simply be refused to be put on the ballot. In the worst case scenario, it can come to an open civil conflict. But so far the system is only being tested for strength.
In New Hampshire (the state of the first primaries), Secretary of State David Scanlan, without waiting for the verdict, begins consultations with the attorney general on the application of the 14th amendment. But in Florida, the first lawsuit was filed. A lawyer from Palm Beach (that is, literally at the place of Trump's "registration") demands that he be disqualified. He refers to the storming of the Capitol, the process around which Judge Chutkan is engaged. The circle closed with the clank of shackles.
Trump, one might say, has one and a half emergency exits.
Appeal to the Supreme Court, where the alignment is six to three in favor of conservative judges. However, a conservative, as practice shows, in America does not always mean a Trumpist. Or the impeachment of Biden, which can cool the hunting ardor of the Democrats. Republicans are tuning in for September.
The author's point of view may not coincide with the position of the editorial board.