New Hampshire Secretary of State David Scanlan is weighing options with the state attorney general on whether former President Donald Trump can be removed from the 2024 presidential ballot under the 14th Amendment.
A number of leftist legal scholars have advanced the plan in recent weeks, including Harvard Law Professor Emeritus Laurence Tribe and retired federal judge J. Michael Luttig, who laid out their argument in an article for The Atlantic. “The disqualification clause operates independently of any such criminal proceedings and, indeed, also independently of impeachment proceedings and of congressional legislation,” they wrote. “The clause was designed to operate directly and immediately upon those who betray their oaths to the Constitution, whether by taking up arms to overturn our government or by waging war on our government by attempting to overturn a presidential election through a bloodless coup.”
The disqualification argument boils down to Section 3 of the 14th Amendment, which says that a public official is not eligible to assume public office if they “engaged in insurrection or rebellion against” the United States, or had “given aid or comfort to the enemies thereof,” unless they are granted amnesty by a two-thirds vote of Congress.
New Hampshire attorney Bryant “Corky” Messner — who was previously endorsed by Trump for one of the state’s U.S. Senate seats in 2020 — is reportedly responsible for getting Scanlan to review the plan. Messner recently announced that he will sue to make sure Scanlan enforces the Fourteenth Amendment against Trump.
“I really don’t view myself as turning on Trump, as odd as that sounds,” Messner told ABC News. “I love this country. I’ve served this country. I’ve taken an oath to this country. My sons are serving right now and I believe someone’s got to step up to defend the Constitution.”
“Someone needs to take some action legally so this thing can get in front of the Supreme Court sooner rather than later to interpret this section,” he added.
Scanlan’s office confirmed that Messner and Scanlan met Friday to discuss the merits of the plan, though the secretary of state will consult with the state attorney general before deciding on further action. “Secretary Scanlan will be conferring with the New Hampshire Attorney General and other legal counsel on this issue; however, he believes any action taken under this Constitutional provision will have to be based on Judicial guidance,” Scanlan’s communications director Anna Sventek told ABC News.
