The final report from the January 6th kangaroo court was released last night, causing a great wave of hoopla and hyperventilating from the liberal media. The broad overviews of the report describe some sort of apocalyptic nightmare wherein the foundations of the nation’s democracy were shaken to their very core or something. While considerable space was devoted to the actual individuals who rioted on that day (along with the far larger number of people who basically trespassed in the Capitol building), the primary focus of the report was, of course, Donald J. Trump and his alleged evil machinations enacted in an effort to overturn the election. But the real coup de grace was picked up by the Washington Post and they ran with it as their headline. “Jan. 6 report recommends Congress ban Trump from running again.”
The report, released as Trump begins his bid for reelection, recommends that Congress consider banning the former president from holding office again, citing the 14th Amendment, which bars those who have “engaged in an insurrection” or offered “aid and comfort to the enemies” of the Constitution. It also details how ahead of the Jan. 6 attack, red flags about potential deadly violence were ignored. The committee behind the report will disband within days.
Not having wasted my time reading the entire diatribe, I cannot say for sure where the report specifically “recommends” that Congress somehow “consider banning” Trump from holding office again. The closest thing I could find to that comes from Liz Cheney’s summary. In it, she writes, “No man who would behave that way at that moment in time can ever serve in any position of authority in our nation again. He is unfit for any office.”
Cheney was obviously granted the “honor” of writing that summary because of the panel’s desperate desire to pretend that this entire dog and pony show was “bipartisan” in nature. (A word that the WaPo used repeatedly in the article.) In reality, it was a panel of liberal Democrats joined by two never-Trumpers, both of whom are now on their way to the private sector.
But what’s important about Cheney’s summary and the bizarre call for Congress to enact such a ban is that this was the entire raison d’etre of the committee from the beginning. This was never about Donald Trump’s alleged role in the riot, a chaotic event that took place after Trump specifically called on his supporters to “peacefully protest” at the Capitol during his speech that day. It was never about his failed efforts to find some legal mechanism to overturn the election or at least delay its certification while allegations of electoral improprieties were investigated. Liz Cheney pulled away the mask and finally said aloud the actual purpose of the committee.
As we have recently learned, Democrats worked in conjunction with the FBI and other agencies to censor relevant information and tip the 2020 election to Joe Biden because of their burning hatred of the Bad Orange Man. But getting him out of office wasn’t enough. They had to find a way to ensure that he could never return. That’s why they worked so hard (with the enthusiastic help of their stenographers in the mainstream media) to label the riot as an “insurrection.”
This was critical to them because of an obscure codicil in the 14th Amendment. It states, in part, that “No person shall … hold any office who, having previously taken an oath… to support the Constitution of the United States, shall have engaged in insurrection or rebellion against the same…”
The Democrats are so terrified by the prospect of Trump returning to the White House that some method had to be found to prevent him from even trying. That was the entire reason we’ve watched this endless parade. But it seems like a far-flung hope at best and it’s one of the most undemocratic things imaginable, speaking of “threats to our democracy.” What they are really suggesting is that the choice of the next president should be removed from the voters of the nation by the will of a slim majority of the members of Congress.
Cheney’s suggestion is also flawed and unconstitutional on its face. Congress does not have the power to “ban” anyone from running for any office unless it’s someone they have ejected from a seat in its own chambers. (And even then it’s unclear if they can ban someone from trying again after they are ejected.) In order for Donald Trump to be excluded from any future presidential elections, he would first need to be tried and found guilty of insurrection or treason in a court of law. Congress can’t simply “declare him to be guilty” without a trial. And unless he is found guilty of one of those crimes, he isn’t barred from running, providing he is over the age of 35 and a natural-born citizen of the United States.
In any event, the committee is on its way into the dustbin of history, along with Cheney and Kinzinger. And Donald Trump is still running for President. No matter how you feel about Trump, whether you love him, hate him, or love his policies while being uncomfortable with his boisterous nature, he will not be barred from trying to retake his old office until he’s served two terms or the primary voters reject his efforts. And the Democrats in the swamp need to come to terms with this reality.
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