Recently, there have been numerous legal attempts to disqualify Donald Trump from running in the 2020 election. This article examines the strengths and weaknesses of these legal attempts in order to determine whether they are likely to be successful.
Firstly, the main strength of these legal attempts to disqualify Donald Trump comes from the legal theory of ‘preexisting impeachment’, which suggests that a sitting president can be impeached without the need for a new trial or conviction. This political theory, which also allows for Congress to act independently of any court, has become a source of political controversy.
However, while the legal theory of preexisting impeachment has been used as a primary argument in the various legal attempts to disqualify Trump, it remains uncertain if it will hold any legal weight. This uncertainty comes from the lack of judicial precedent supporting the theory, since there has yet to be any major court ruling that has adopted it.
Furthermore, many of the legal attempts to disqualify Trump are based on contested and ambiguous facts, which could lead to the cases being dismissed by the courts. This is due to the fact that the courts must assess the details of each case before the theory of preexisting impeachment can be applied, and obtaining such details could prove difficult. As a result, it is possible that the legal efforts to disqualify Trump could fail before they even reach a court.
Finally, even if the legal attempts at disqualifying Trump are successful, there is the potential for a widespread constitutional crisis. This is because disqualifying a sitting president would be unprecedented, and could lead to the creation of a political vacuum, with no clear successor to the presidency. As such, it is likely that any decision to legally disqualify Trump would encountrer strong opposition from both sides of the political aisle.
Overall, while the legal attempts to disqualify Donald Trump possess a number of potential benefits to those seeking to prevent him from running in the 2020 election, there are also a number of weaknesses that could prove to be difficult to overcome. As a result, it remains to be seen whether these legal attempts will be successful or not.