Why Trump not indicted for disqualifying insurrection?Democrats perceive Trump as a paralyzing wedge issue for Republicans
August 5, 2023 Letters to the Editor Bruce Fein's Pioneering Lyceum is a reader-supported publication. To receive new posts and support my work, consider becoming a free or paid subscriber. The New York Times Re: “The Charges Notably Absent in the Case” (Front page story by Alan Feuer, August 4, 2023) To the Editor: The charge of aiding or assisting “insurrection,” if sustained against former President Donald Trump, would disqualify him from the 2024 presidential race under section 3 of the Fourteenth Amendment. The charge was probably omitted from Mr. Trump’s August 1, 2023, federal grand jury indictment not from fear of a free speech defense. It had been rejected in a companion civil rights case, Thompson v. Trump (February 18, 2022) by U.S. District Judge Amit P. Mehta. Judge Mehta found that Mr. Trump’s incendiary Stop the Steal lies to an armed mob on January 6 succeeded in inciting an attack on the Capitol to prevent Vice President Mike Pence from counting state-certified electoral votes to frustrate compliance with the Twelfth Amendment and Electoral Count Act. Insurrection was more likely omitted because Democrats believe Trump would be a weak and convulsive Republican candidate against President Joe Biden and do not want him disqualified; or because it was thought disqualification would compound the nation’s partisan divisions. Special Counsel Jack Smith was probably not responsible for the omission. Sincerely, Bruce Fein, associate deputy attorney general under President Reagan and author of Constitutional Peril: The Life and Death Struggle for Our Constitution and Democracy 300 New Jersey Avenue, N.W.; Suite 900 Washington, D.C. 20001 Phone: 202-465-8728; 703-963-4968 (M) Email: bruce@feinpoints.com Bruce Fein's Pioneering Lyceum is a reader-supported publication. To receive new posts and support my work, consider becoming a free or paid subscriber. You're currently a free subscriber to Bruce Fein's Pioneering Lyceum. For the full experience, upgrade your subscription. © 2023 Bruce Fein |