Congressman Jamie Raskin has (D-MD) been caught on tape detailing a controversial plan to prevent former President Donald Trump from assuming the presidency, even if he is selected by American voters. The video captured Raskin discussing what he sees as a constitutional mechanism to disqualify Trump.

Raskin specifically referenced Section 3 of the 14th Amendment, expressing a chilling determination to use Congress as a barrier against Trump’s reinstatement. “What can be put into the Constitution can slip away from you very quickly. And the greatest example going on right now before our very eyes is Section 3 of the 14th Amendment, which they’re just disappearing with a magic wand, as if it doesn’t exist, even though it could not be clearer what it’s stating,” Raskin said.

“They want to kick it to Congress. So it’s going to be up to us on January 6, 2025, to tell the rampaging Trump mobs that he’s disqualified and then we need bodyguards.”

Raskin went on to criticize the Supreme Court Justices for their alleged reluctance to interpret the 14th Amendment as he believes they should. “For everybody in civil war conditions all because the nine justices, not all of them, but these justices who have not many cases to look at every year, not that much work to do, a huge staff, great protection, simply do not want to do their job and interpret what the great 14th amendment means,” he said.

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Section 3 of the 14th Amendment to the U.S. Constitution has garnered significant attention in recent years, particularly in discussions around the eligibility of certain individuals, notably former presidents, to hold office. The clause was originally crafted in the aftermath of the Civil War, primarily to prevent former Confederates who had engaged in insurrection or rebellion against the Union from returning to governmental roles without Congress’s consent.

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The text of Section 3 states:

No person shall be a Senator or Representative in Congress, or elector of President and Vice President, or hold any office, civil or military, under the United States, or under any State, who, having previously taken an oath, as a member of Congress, or as an officer of the United States, or as a member of any State legislature, or as an executive or judicial officer of any State, to support the Constitution of the United States, shall have engaged in insurrection or rebellion against the same, or given aid or comfort to the enemies thereof.

Despite its origin in the 19th century, Section 3 has rarely been applied. However, in the context of former President Trump and the allegations surrounding his involvement with the January 6, 2021, Capitol breach, some have tried that this provision should be invoked to disqualify him from future office if he is deemed to have engaged in insurrection. However, the U.S. Supreme Court ruled that states can’t boot former President Trump off the election ballots over insurrection claims. The decision aimed to prevent a messy, state-by-state fight over who gets to be on the ballot—avoiding potential electoral chaos.

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