No one is above the Constitution

Archived Opinion

No one is above the Constitution

To the Editor:

A historic constitutional battle is brewing.

(Google Trump and the Fourteenth Amendment to read the opinions of Constitutional scholars.) Two of them are J. Michael Luttig (Republican) and Laurence Tribe (Democrat) who have joined forces. They are advocating the use of the Fourteenth Amendment to prevent Donald Trump from being a candidate for president. The Amendment states “… shall have engaged in insurrection or rebellion against the same, or given aid and comfort to the enemies thereof.” The “same” and “enemies thereof” refer to the Constitution. Read the Fourteenth Amendment, Section Three.

An obvious argument against that reasoning is that Trump has not been convicted of involvement in an insurrection. Yet, he clearly was involved. He was the acting President of the United States, sworn to uphold the Constitution. He failed in his sworn duties by refusing to stop the rioters who had invaded the Capitol. Stopping the riot was one of his duties. His inaction is well-documented. It lasted for over three hours, preventing the Constitutional mandate to certify the 2020 presidential election. Trump had no Constitutional duty to stop the electoral count. His duty was to see that it was carried out as required by the Constitution. His involvement is further proven by the fact that when he asked/ordered the rioters to leave the Capitol their response was almost immediate.

In Biblical terms there are sins of commission and sins of omission. Failing/refusing to minimize the damage caused by the Capitol rioters falls into the category of omission. He failed to protect the right to vote. He failed to facilitate the Constitutionally mandated electoral vote count. He must be held accountable.

This cannot be merely an emotional issue. Nor a political party issue. It is a Constitutional issue. It must be resolved by applying the Constitution. The Constitution must be protected. No one is above the Constitution.