The provisions of the 14th Amendment that are being used to disqualify Donald Trump from the ballot are no longer in effect. They were repealed by Congress in the late 19th Century. A legal brief filed with the Supreme Court by the Public Interest Legal Foundation correctly points this out.

The brief asserts that the legal viability of Section 3 of the Fourteenth Amendment, the basis of Colorado’s decision, was repealed by Congress in 1872 and 1898. Section 3, passed just 3 years after the end of the American Civil War, prohibits those who “have engaged in insurrection or rebellion” from occupying offices. Which means those provisions are no longer in force whatsoever. It is the most basic legal argument to toss any attempt to keep President Trump off the ballot.

PILF argues, Congress in 1872 and 1898 extended an amnesty by repealing the provisions against office holding arising from the Civil War. The 14th Amendment gave Congress the power to terminate the prohibition against those who engaged in “insurrection.” Congress terminated the effectiveness of the provisions, twice.  Therefore, they cannot be used in 2024 to ban candidates from the ballot.

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