Will Democrats try to stop Trump from taking office in revenge for the 2021 Capitol riots?

A new argument put forward by legal experts is raising concerns that Democrats could seek to block former President Donald Trump from returning to office, citing his alleged role in the Jan. 6, 2021, riot at the Capitol.

Legal experts argue that Trump’s actions qualify as “insurrection” under Section 3 of the 14th Amendment, which prohibits people engaged in insurrection from holding public office.

“No person shall hold any civil or military office under the United States or in any State who, having taken an oath…to support the Constitution of the United States, has engaged in insurrection or rebellion against the same Constitution, or brought aid or comfort to his enemies,” the section reads.

In an opinion piece published by The Hill, legal scholars Evan Davis and David Schulte said the evidence against Trump was “overwhelming,” referring to his second impeachment trial, a Colorado court ruling and conclusions of the committee of the House of Representatives of January 6.

They claim these proceedings collectively establish that Trump “engaged in insurrection” by inciting the Capitol riot and illegally pressuring then-Vice President Mike Pence to call it off. the results of the 2020 elections.

Their argument hinges on Congress invoking the Electoral Count Act to object to Trump’s Electoral College votes, claiming they were not “properly granted” due to his alleged disqualification under the Constitution.

If these objections were supported by a majority in the House and Senate, Trump’s votes could be overruled.

“Democrats must take a stand against Electoral College votes for someone constitutionally disqualified from holding office unless and until that disqualification is removed,” Davis and Schulte said. “Their oath to support and defend the Constitution demands no less.”

But any attempt to prevent Trump from gaining power would undoubtedly face enormous resistance from a Republican-majority Congress.

Davis and Schulte’s controversial op-ed comes as Democrats express concerns that Trump will use President Joe Biden’s sweeping pardons during his final days in office as an excuse to use the powers more liberally during his second term – including to pardon himself.

Biden recently announced a pardon for his troubled son Hunter, 54, on felony gun and tax charges.

He also commuted the sentences of about 1,500 people earlier this month and granted 39 pardons in the largest single-day act of clemency in modern American history.

Trump suggested immediately after Hunter’s pardon that he plans to grant pardons to all those accused of January 6 whose actions were intended to show their dissatisfaction with the results and conduct of the 2020 presidential elections.

Such massive pardons could allow the release of more than 500 people from prison and nearly 1,000 other cases closed.

The president-elect said it was a high priority for him to get those who rioted at the Capitol in 2021 out of where they are being held because they have been there for years while he ran for a second term.

“I’m going to move very quickly,” Trump told NBC News in his first post-victory interview broadcast Dec. 8 on Meet the Press. ‘I’m looking for the first day.’

“These people have been here, how long have they been?” Three, four years,” Trump lamented.

“They’ve been there for years. And they’re in a dirty, disgusting place that shouldn’t even be allowed to be open,” he added.

That raises the question of who else might be on Trump’s list to receive a pardon.

Article II, Section 2, of the U.S. Constitution states that the pardon power allows a president to “grant reprieves and pardons for offenses against the United States, except in cases of impeachment.”

There is no text specifying who can or cannot benefit from grace.

Since the president has the power to pardon any federal crime, it appears there is nothing stopping Trump from adding his own name to the list.

“It remains an open question whether a president can pardon himself,” legal scholar John Yoo told the Daily Mail. “The president’s pardon power has very few limits: he cannot pardon impeachment and he cannot pardon state crimes.”

“Other than that, there is no limit to the president’s ability to pardon federal crimes,” added the deputy assistant attorney general in the Office of Legal Counsel under President George W. Bush. “I think that means the Constitution allows a president to pardon himself.”

“Federalist supporters of the Constitution (felt it was more important to give the president as much flexibility as possible in the pardon power,” noted Yoo, who worked in President George W. Bush’s administration.

After Biden pardoned his son Hunter earlier this month, Trump may seek to do the same for his own children for their involvement in federal prosecutions.

Trump’s business empire The Trump Organization has already been convicted of tax fraud in New York.

And with Eric Trump now executive vice president, any federal matters involving the company could fall to his second son.

Trump also faces a host of other lawsuits and has been found guilty in some of them, including the E. Jean Carroll case where a jury found in May 2023 that Trump was responsible for sexually assaulting her and defamed. He was ordered to pay $5 million in damages.

It’s possible he’ll seek pardons in these federal cases.