'Insurrection or rebellion': State officials grapple with keeping Trump off their ballots over coup attempt

29 August 2023

Over the years, J. Michael Luttig — a conservative retired judge — has been highly regarded in right-wing legal circles. But Luttig has infuriated MAGA Republicans by saying that former President Donald Trump isn't qualified to run for president in 2024.

According to Luttig, Trump's efforts to overturn the 2020 election results were a coup attempt that disqualify him under the U.S. Constitution's 14th Amendment.

Luttig has been warning that "American democracy in grave peril." And some state officials, paying close attention to what he has to say, are considering the possibility of trying to keep Trump off the ballot in their states.

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One of the states where Republicans have been debating whether or not Trump is qualified to be on their ballot is New Hampshire.

Forbes' Alison Durkee reports, "Bryant 'Corky' Messner, a New Hampshire attorney who ran for the U.S. Senate in 2020 with Trump's endorsement, has suggested he intends to file a legal challenge questioning Trump's 2024 candidacy under Section 3 of the 14th Amendment, which bars officials from holding federal or state office if they've 'engaged in insurrection or rebellion against the (U.S.), or given aid or comfort to the enemies thereof."

Messner, according to Durkee, met with New Hampshire Secretary of State David Scanlan, a Republican, on Friday, August 25 to "discuss the issue." And Chris Ager, who heads the New Hampshire GOP, responded by vowing to "fight to make sure that candidates are not denied access to the ballot."

Scanlan, however, told NBC News he is "not seeking to remove any names from the presidential primary ballot."

"Beyond New Hampshire," Durkee reports, "Michigan's Democratic secretary of state, Jocelyn Benson, told MSNBC she intends to seek a legal opinion on the issue from the state's attorney general 'when the time is right,' and suggested she would work in conjunction with her counterparts in other battleground states like Nevada, Pennsylvania and Georgia to determine how to proceed."

Voters, Durkee adds, "have filed lawsuits in Florida and Michigan challenging the constitutionality of Trump being on the ballot, which could force state election officials' hands, and legal disputes over the issue are widely expected to make it to the Supreme Court."

Forbes' full report is available at this link.

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