Donald Trump Could be Disqualified From Running in 2024 by Supreme Court

Former President Donald Trump is constitutionally ineligible to run for the presidency in 2024 according to two top legal experts, who argue it could become the "province and duty" of the Supreme Court to back this conclusion.

The argument is made by law professors William Baude and Michael Stokes Paulsen, from the University of Chicago and the University of St. Thomas respectively, in a 126-page report. They argue Trump's attempts to overturn the 2020 presidential election amount to "insurrection" thus making it unconstitutional for him to run for the White House again under the 14^th Amendment, unless he receives permission from two-thirds of both the Senate and House of Representatives.

Trump is currently front runner for the 2024 Republican presidential nomination, with polling giving him a strong lead over his closest rival, Florida Governor Ron DeSantis. However the former president is facing a range of criminal charges, including over claims he broke the law while trying to remain in office despite losing the 2020 election, which he strongly denies. Trump continues to insist the 2020 vote was rigged against him, despite his claims of electoral fraud being dismissed in multiple courts and by independent legal experts.

In their report Baude and Paulsen claim section three of the 14^th Amendment "disqualified former President Donald Trump [from office], and potentially many others, because of their participation in the attempted overthrow of the 2020 presidential election."

Section three 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" who previously took an oath "to support the constitution of the United States," but then went on to engage in "insurrection or rebellion."

This can be overturned by a two-thirds majority in both chambers of Congress, which Trump would be highly unlikely to receive. Each president pledges to uphold the constitution as part of their inauguration.

Baude and Paulsen state the 14^th Amendment "remains fully legally operative" and is "constitutionally self-executing" meaning "its command is automatically effective, directly enacted by the Constitution itself." The 14^th Amendment was ratified in 1868 just three years after the end of the Civil War.

The authors conclude that Trump's right to stand for the presidency again is likely to come before the courts, stating: "If state officials excluded him from ballot eligibility, he would likely be able to sue in state or federal court to challenge state officials' determination of ineligibility. And if he was not excluded by state officials, voters (at least in some states) might possess the legal right to challenge his eligibility."

They continue: "Given the magnitude of the question and its consequences, it is not difficult to imagine such an important case making its way quickly to the U.S. Supreme Court."

Baude and Paulsen claim that because of "a range of misperceptions and mistaken assumptions" the "full legal consequences" of section three of the 14^th Amendment "have not been appreciated or enforced."

In addition: "Section Three is self-executing, operating as an immediate disqualification from office, without the need for additional action by Congress. It can and should be enforced by every official, state or federal, who judges qualifications."

Both Baude and Paulsen are members of the Federalist Society, a conservative-leaning group that advocates for the importance of "individual liberty, traditional values, and the rule of law" within the legal system.

Newsweek has contacted Donald Trump for comment via the press inquiry form on his official website.