January 6th and the 14th Amendment
Let’s start with the Section 3 of the 14th Amendment to the US Constitution which prohibits anyone who “shall have engaged in insurrection or rebellion against the same, or given aid or comfort to the enemies thereof” from running for federal office. This was essentially meant to stop Confederate soldiers and officers from holding or reclaiming office after the Civil War, but if we hold that January 6th was an insurrection (i.e. there was a goal of stopping Joe Biden from being certified as president in order to keep Trump in power), then anyone who gave “aid or comfort” to those who participated in January 6th would be barred from holding office. There’s a test case that’s currently being run on this with Marjorie Taylor Greene, presumably in part for making statements like this:
Or perhaps it’s because reporting has suggested that she along six other members of congress met with the organizers of the January 6th “Stop the Steal” rally in advance of the event.
The results here will be interesting to see not just because they may prevent Greene from continuing to hold office, but also because this precedent could be used to prosecute and remove from office any number of people who have direct connections to the multiple efforts to undermine and overthrow the legitimate results of the 2020 election. This includes Trump, of course, but also potentially includes any state election officials who have taken off specifically with the intent of undermining the democratic process (which many of them are likely stating openly and indeed creating a platform based on it).
Keep an eye out for what happens here, because it could tell us a lot about what’s coming in November and beyond.