This is something I HAVE thought could be end of ALL the Trump Federal criminal cases and yet keep Trump out of jail as an ex-American President and keep him from the Presidency again….
But?
I have to admit…
It would be almost impossible to get done….
Two days after Donald Trump announced his campaign for the 2024 presidential election, Attorney General Merrick Garland said he was appointing a special counsel to investigate possible crimes relating to Trump’s taking of classified documents to his Florida residence at Mar-a-Lago, and with respect to Trump’s actions related to the Jan. 6 riot at the U.S. Capitol.
The timing was no coincidence. “Based on recent developments, including the former president’s announcement that he is a candidate for president in the next election and the sitting president’s stated intention to be a candidate as well, I have concluded that it is in the public interest to appoint a special counsel,” explained Garland.
Wait, why is it in the “public interest” to appoint a special counsel only if Trump is running for the presidency? If he committed crimes, shouldn’t the attorney general be prosecuting him anyway?
And why is Biden’s likely candidacy a factor? Is the attorney general using the power of his office to protect Biden from a Trump challenge? If that were the case, it’s Garland who should be prosecuted and removed from office.
And how would the attorney general stop Trump from running again? The answer may be that Garland is hoping to invoke the Fourteenth Amendment….
…
The nonpartisan Congressional Research Service (CRS) has published a short analysis — interestingly, updated on Sept. 7, 2022, presumably because members of Congress are asking questions. CRS examines the history of the amendment, which was ratified by the states in 1868, addressing issues relating to the Civil War.
The problem for Democrats is that it isn’t at all clear how to initiate a Fourteenth Amendment challenge against a former president: Who manages the process? What actions meet the standard of “engaging in insurrection”? And could anyone prove Trump’s actions on or before the Jan. 6 Capitol riot rose to that level?…
…
The CRS does say that Congress could pass legislation that would clarify some of these questions, but the House will be in Republican hands come January. And even though there is a growing number of Republicans who don’t want Trump to run again, it seems extremely unlikely they would vote with Democrats to bar him from returning to office.
In short, it’s likely no one knows how a Fourteenth Amendment challenge would work given the current circumstances. But the CRS does say Congress might enforce the Disqualification Clause by “relying on federal criminal prosecution for insurrection or treason.” That’s where Garland might play a role, and it provides a reason why he would appoint a special counsel…