Bill Otis here. As you might remember, I'm former chief of appeals for the USAO for EDVA.
I'm a Reagan/Bush Republican, if that makes a difference.
Trump's immunity argument is preposterous and won't get a single vote anywhere. The more interesting question on the legal plate right now is the 14th Amendment. So let me just ask you straight up: Do you think Trump is disqualified under the Amendment, and what do you expect the Supreme Court to hold?
Thanks Bill. If I were a judge, I'd rule that Trump engaged in an insurrection and is disqualified. But as I wrote in last Sunday's "Wrap," I think the most likely outcome is probably that SCOTUS finds the clause is not self-executing and Congress would need to enact some legislation creating national standards to enforce it. I don't think the Court will want to leave it up to state-by-state determinations.
Thanks, Randall. One way or another, I agree that the Court isn't going to effectively disenfranchise roughly half the electorate. I also agree that this is most likely to happen via some resolution that leaves open the substantive question whether Trump engaged in an insurrection. To paraphrase the Chief, the best way to beat Trump is to beat him -- at the polls.
Bill Otis here. As you might remember, I'm former chief of appeals for the USAO for EDVA.
I'm a Reagan/Bush Republican, if that makes a difference.
Trump's immunity argument is preposterous and won't get a single vote anywhere. The more interesting question on the legal plate right now is the 14th Amendment. So let me just ask you straight up: Do you think Trump is disqualified under the Amendment, and what do you expect the Supreme Court to hold?
Thanks Bill. If I were a judge, I'd rule that Trump engaged in an insurrection and is disqualified. But as I wrote in last Sunday's "Wrap," I think the most likely outcome is probably that SCOTUS finds the clause is not self-executing and Congress would need to enact some legislation creating national standards to enforce it. I don't think the Court will want to leave it up to state-by-state determinations.
Thanks, Randall. One way or another, I agree that the Court isn't going to effectively disenfranchise roughly half the electorate. I also agree that this is most likely to happen via some resolution that leaves open the substantive question whether Trump engaged in an insurrection. To paraphrase the Chief, the best way to beat Trump is to beat him -- at the polls.