Democrat Rep. David Cicilline (D-RI) on Tuesday circulated a letter to round up support to permanently bar former President Donald Trump from reelection.
Accusing Trump of citing an insurrection, Cicilline cited the Fourteenth Amendment in the Constitution as the basis for which Trump should never again be allowed to govern.
Former President Donald Trump waves after announcing he is running for president for the third time at Mar-a-Lago in Palm Beach, Florida, Tuesday, November 15, 2022. (AP Photo/Andrew Harnik)
“This language in our Constitution clearly intended to bar insurrectionists from holding high office in the United States,” the letter reads:
Given the proof — demonstrated through the January 6th Committee Hearings, the 2021 impeachment trials, and other reporting — that Donald Trump engaged in insurrection on January 6th with the intention of overturning the lawful 2020 election results, I have drafted legislation that would prevent Donald Trump from holding public office again under the Fourteen Amendment.
Cicilline’s letter did not mention that Trump was acquitted in the 2021 Senate impeachment trial. Cicilline’s letter also failed to mention the January 6 Committee has not alleged Trump committed insurrection, the New York Times reported. Instead, the January 6 Committee is trying to pin “criminal violations” on Trump, “including obstructing an official proceeding of Congress and conspiracy to defraud the American people.”
During Trump’s speech on January 6, Trump asked protestors to march “peacefully and patriotically” to the Capitol, a fact Cicilline’s letter also ignored.
“I know that everyone here will soon be marching over to the Capitol building to peacefully and patriotically make your voices heard,” Trump said.
Despite evidence to the contrary, Cicilline claimed his proposed legislation “details testimony and evidence demonstrating how Donald Trump engaged in insurrection against the United States.”
Follow Wendell Husebø on Twitter @WendellHusebø. He is the author of Politics of Slave Morality.