TWIT: The Lessons of History

Several prominent historians and constitutional scholars have develed into the history of the Fourteenth Amendment and its Section 3 disqualifying insurrectionists from holding public office.  As US Person has already posted, the legislative history unequivocally supports these propositions:

• Don 'Legit' was an insurrectionist who sought to overthrow the peaceful transition of Executive power on January 6th;
• He was an officer of the United States at the time;
• He took an oath of office to support the Constitution;
• Insurrections include not just armed rebellion of the past but those that may occur in the future 

The so-called originalists on the Supreme Court ought to pay attention to these conclusions by eminent scholars in their amicus brief.  They claim to be interested in the intent of the authors in the context of history when interpreting the Constitution.  MAGAist constructions are unnatural and overly narrow, intended to only exculpate the perpetrator.  As many commentators have observed by now, this is a pivotal moment in our history.  Either we are a republic of laws fairly construed, or a deteriorating democracy on the path to dictatorship.

On another legal front Judge Engoron has paused his decision in the New York fraud case to consider the findings of the legal monitor, Barbara Jones, appointed to oversea the operations of Trump Org.  She found some glaring omissions, questionable practices, and irregularities in the organization's financial operations.  Most questionable is the existence of a $48 million internal loan reported in financial disclosure statements of 2018-2021 (so-called MAML disclosures), yet the company disputes whether the the loan existed in the first place.  This potentially fraudulent entry could be the straw that breaks the camel's back for Judge Engoron.  The Attorney General is asking for injunctive relief banning Trump and his sons from the real estate industry in New York.  She says such an injunction is needed because of a demonstrated propensity to use false financial filings, even during the criminal investigation and the appointment of a monitor.  Without such injunctive relief such fraudulent filings are likely to occur again. Bring the pain, judge!

He may also be waiting for the outcome of a potential perjury plea agreement by Alan Wiesselberg, Trump's former CFO, who lied on the witness stand about the size of Trump's penthouse apartment and was publicly called out for the lie by Forbes magazine.  It just keeps getting worse for Don 'Legit'

credit: H. Darko, Columbia Missourian