Update: Rep. Zoe Lofgren (D-Calif.) issued a statement in response to The Atlantic article's characterization of her:
I would like to clarify a recent statement attributed to me in the article, “How Democrats Could Disqualify Trump If the Supreme Court Doesn’t,” which I am concerned was not put in the full context of the interview. The Electoral Count Act does not permit the disqualification of Electoral College votes based on the insurrection activities of a candidate. After my work on the January 6th Select Committee, I am confident that Mr. Trump engaged in insurrection. The constitutional impact of his behavior is currently a murky legal question and under consideration by the Supreme Court. I would consider objecting to the electoral vote certification under the Electoral Count Act if the Supreme Court rules that the 14th Amendment required such action despite the Electoral Count Act. I am not considering objecting prior to the Supreme Court issuing its decision and if the decision provides that path legally. I regret that my statement was not clearer and want to be very clear now.
Original Article: It should come as no surprise that after years of claiming that refusing to certify an election was an attack on democracy and tantamount to treason, they are now considering doing just that in the event Donald Trump wins the 2024 presidential election.
As you know, left-wing groups waged a multi-state battle to remove Trump from primary ballots, using Section Three of the 14th Amendment as a pretext. Since Trump has never been tried or convicted of sedition or participating in an insurrection, these efforts should never have succeeded. While most states rejected those efforts, the Colorado Supreme Court ruled that Trump was ineligible under the 14th Amendment. Soon after, Maine's Secretary of State also unilaterally declared Trump guilty without a trial, setting the stage for the U.S. Supreme Court to step in and settle the issue.
The Supreme Court hasn't yet ruled on whether Colorado can exclude President Trump from its ballot, but it was widely agreed after the oral arguments earlier this month that it is extremely likely they won't. However, they could punt the issue of eligibility to Congress.
Related: It's Russia, Russia, Russia All Over Again. But the Real Question Is, Why?
In the event that Democrats win the House majority in November — which many believe is likely — a constitutional crisis could occur, as a new Democrat majority may refuse to certify the results, according to a new story from The Atlantic.
Democrats would have to choose between confirming a winner many of them believe is ineligible and defying the will of voters who elected him. Their choice could be decisive: As their victory in a House special election in New York last week demonstrated, Democrats have a serious chance of winning a majority in Congress in November, even if Trump recaptures the presidency on the same day. If that happens, they could have the votes to prevent him from taking office.
In interviews, senior House Democrats would not commit to certifying a Trump win, saying they would do so only if the Supreme Court affirms his eligibility. But during oral arguments, liberal and conservative justices alike seemed inclined to dodge the question of his eligibility altogether and throw the decision to Congress.
“That would be a colossal disaster,” Representative Adam Schiff of California told me. “We already had one horrendous January 6. We don’t need another.”…
You can't make this stuff up. Rep. Jamie Raskin (D-Md.) told The Atlantic that he didn't know how he'd vote in such a scenario. Some House Democrats similarly objected to certifying the Electoral College vote in 2017.
In an amicus brief to the Supreme Court, a trio of legal scholars—Edward Foley, Benjamin Ginsberg, and Richard Hasen—warned the justices that if they did not rule on Trump’s eligibility, “it is a certainty” that members of Congress would seek to disqualify him on January 6, 2025. I asked Lofgren whether she would be one of those lawmakers. “I might be.”
The scholars also warned that serious political instability and violence could ensue. That possibility was on Raskin’s mind, too. He conceded that the threat of violence could influence what Democrats do if Trump wins. But, Raskin added, it wouldn’t necessarily stop them from trying to disqualify him. “We might just decide that’s something we need to prepare for.”
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