Michigan Secretary of State Jocelyn Benson has said there is a "quite strong" case that Donald Trump is ineligible to serve a second term as president due to the Constitution's 14th Amendment.
The Democrat made the comment during an MSNBC interview with Ali Velshi on Tuesday, revealing that secretaries of state for Michigan and "several other states" plan to collaborate on the question.
Under Article 14 anyone who swore an oath to uphold the American constitution, but then engaged in "insurrection or rebellion," is deemed ineligible to be "Senator or Representative in Congress, or elector of President and Vice President, or hold any office, civil or military." Several legal scholars have argued Trump's attempt to overturn the 2020 presidential election result constituted a "rebellion," meaning any White House return would be unconstitutional. Trump vowed to "preserve, protect and defend" the constitution as part of his January 2017 inauguration.
During her MSNBC appearance Benson insisted the judgement "can't be a political decision," commenting: "This is a really important discussion, I think the arguments for disqualification are quite strong but we also have to recognize we are in uncharted territory here and there are counterarguments on the other side that need to be explored.
"The ultimate decider in this case is going to be the courts and really the ultimate court to resolve this will be the United States Supreme Court and in that regard we hope that decision, however it makes its way to the court, comes sooner rather than later."
Benson argued the question of Trump's constitutional eligibility to serve as president is likely to become an issue during the primary campaign if he secures the 2024 Republican presidential nomination next summer and then again if he then wins the subsequent presidential election in November. She added: "I think we need to buckle down and prepare for this to be an issue throughout this cycle alongside the criminal cases."
During the interview Benson also revealed she is looking to collaborate with other secretaries of state, who oversee elections in their various states, in order to "have a very open and transparent discussion" about whether the constitution prevents Trump from serving again.
Newsweek has contacted Donald Trump for comment on Benson's remarks via the press inquiry form on his official website.
On Monday Trump responded angrily to the suggestion he could be blocked from returning to the White House in a post on his Truth Social website.
He commented: "Almost all legal scholars have voiced opinions that the 14th Amendment has no legal basis or standing relative to the upcoming 2024 Presidential Election.
"It is just another 'trick' being used by the Radical Left Communists, Marxists, and Fascists, to again steal an Election that their candidate, the WORST, MOST INCOMPETENT, & MOST CORRUPT President in U.S. history, is incapable of winning in a Free and Fair Election."
In an earlier interview with Newsweek Adam Kamenstein, a former federal prosecutor and partner with the Los Angeles-based law firm Adams, Duerk & Kamenstein described the case for Trump's being constitutionally ineligible from serving again as "trenchant and compelling."
However, he warned the argument is "unlikely to gain broad acceptance" regardless of "how compelling the legal scholarship."
