Furthermore, as Colorado resident and preeminent conservative legal mind
Judge Michael Luttig has rightly argued, it was Trump’s anti-democratic conduct—specifically his attempts to undermine the peaceful transfer of power—that triggered a response necessitated by the Constitution. Trump used threats and violence in an attempt to disenfranchise more than 80 million Americans who chose another president. The Fourteenth Amendment automatically shielded our democracy by making Trump ineligible to hold office again the moment he engaged in an insurrection.
Trump does not need to face a criminal trial or be convicted. The Fourteenth Amendment is not a criminal statute and will not subject him to penal consequences—no fine, no prison. Instead, it is a civil matter determined by a different burden of proof, and it only denies him the privilege of seeking office. That is a significant difference. For example, O.J. Simpson was found not guilty of murder in the famous criminal case, but in subsequent civil court proceedings was still found liable for those deaths and ordered to pay tens of millions of dollars.
In this case, Trump had his day in court, though he refused to testify and fought our efforts to subpoena him. He forfeited his opportunity to personally plead his case. And in the end, he lost. He must now pay the consequences.
