Executive Order and Disorder: The Case of Donald Trump
- Saharsh Bharadwaj
- Apr 24, 2024
- 2 min read
Former United States President, Donald Trump, has faced legal jeopardy for over 91 felony counts across multiple states and districts, almost any of which could end in a prison sentence.
The controversial ex-president was the first President to be impeached twice. He has faced criminal charges for the mishandling of classified documents as well as incitement of the January 6th Capitol insurrection, where the United States Capitol Building was attacked by a mob of supporters of Trump, two months after his defeat, attempting to overturn the 2020 elections result. For most of these cases, Donald Trump has pled Presidential Immunity, claiming that most of these felonies were done on executive order and official duty. Somehow, Trump’s popularity has not waned as he currently serves as the leading Republican candidate for the 2024 ballot.
Yet, in over 30 states, there were multiple petitions which aimed at preventing him from contesting the ballot. This is under the 14th Amendment of the US Constitution which states that any person holding an office such as that of a Senator, Representative, President or Vice-President, who has participated in a rebellion or insurrection is automatically disqualified from holding that office. The petitions claim that his incitement of the January 6th insurrection on the Capitol meets this criteria.
The top court of Colorado decided to oust the former President from their ballot using the 14th amendment as the justification. The US Supreme Court reversed this decision stating that states can implement the following clause in relation only to state office. The states have no power to implement the same clause for federal offices, especially that of the President.
Supporters of the Republican leader have welcomed the decision with open arms, stating that Trump had suffered and was a victim of political plots. Opponents are skeptical of the decision as three judges who made this decision were appointed during Donald Trump’s tenure. (read our post on how the US government works!)
The same case has caused a stir in the Indian polity, as prominent BJP leader Mahesh Jethmalani has asked the United States State Department to focus on this case instead of accusing the Indian rule of law for Arvind Kejriwal’s arrest during the election campaigning period. Noticing that the United States under Joe Biden has made official statements regarding the questionability of the Kejriwal arrest, the important question of whether Indian foreign policy under the NDA regime will align with Trump or Biden, arises.
By Saharsh Bharadwaj
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