Two law professors, both respected members of the Federalist Society, debuted a piece scheduled for publication in the University of Pennsylvania law journal arguing that Donald Trump and others are ineligible for public office due to their efforts to undermine the Constitution by obstructing the transfer of power.
Referring to the 14th Amendment’s Section 3, William Baude of the University of Chicago and Michael Stokes Paulsen of the University of St. Thomas argue, “It is unquestionably fair to say that Trump ‘engaged in’ the Jan. 6 insurrection through both his actions and his inaction,” according to a New York Times summary. Those acts, the pair say, make him and others shown to participate in the activities that led up to the insurrection ineligible for public office, whether they physically stormed the Capitol or not. The abstract summarizes, “And in particular, it disqualifies former President Donald Trump, and potentially many others, because of their participation in the attempted overthrow of the 2020 presidential election.”
The paper is not a court order or decision, but the fact that two respected members of the Federalist Society–the Leo Leonard controlled conservative judge funnel from which Republicans pluck their judicial nominees–have such a detailed research paper on the subject could influence the group’s members on the bench.