House January 6 committee has decided to make criminal referrals, chairman says

The Government Should Fear Its People Not Vice Versa

Wow!

CNN Politics reports:

The House select committee investigating the January 6, 2021, attack on the US Capitol has decided to make criminal referrals to the Department of Justice, the panel’s chairman, Rep. Bennie Thompson, told reporters Tuesday.

Thompson, a Mississippi Democrat, said the committee has not narrowed down the universe of individuals who may be referred.

Asked whether Thompson believed any witnesses perjured themselves, he said, “that’s part of the discussion.”

(click here to continue reading House January 6 committee has decided to make criminal referrals, chairman says | CNN Politics.)

Unexpected, actually, because usually Democrats don’t ever go for the jugular. We’ll remain cautiously optimistic that some insurrectionists see jail time, as they should.

Can Donald Trump Run for President Again If He Broke A Particular Law?

I Will Never Call Donald Trump President

Survey says…

Charlie Savage, The New York Times, reports:

Early reports that the F.B.I. search of former President Donald J. Trump’s residence in Florida related to an investigation into whether he had unlawfully taken government files when he left the White House focused attention on an obscure criminal law barring removal of official records. The penalties for breaking that law include disqualification from holding any federal office.

Because Mr. Trump is widely believed to be preparing to run for president again in 2024, that unusual penalty raised the prospect that he might be legally barred from returning to the White House.

Specifically, the law in question — Section 2071 of Title 18 of the United States Code — makes it a crime if someone who has custody of government documents or records “willfully and unlawfully conceals, removes, mutilates, obliterates, falsifies or destroys” them. If convicted, defendants can be fined or sentenced to prison for up to three years. In addition, the statute says, if they are currently in a federal office, they “shall forfeit” that office, and they shall “be disqualified from holding any office under the United States.” On its face, then, if Mr. Trump were to be charged and convicted of removing, concealing or destroying government records under that law, he would seem to be ineligible to become president again.

But there was reason for caution

several legal scholars — including Seth B. Tillman of Maynooth University in Ireland and Eugene Volokh of the University of California, Los Angeles — noted that the Constitution sets eligibility criteria for who can be president, and argued that Supreme Court rulings suggest Congress cannot alter them. The Constitution allows Congress to disqualify people from holding office in impeachment proceedings, but grants no such power for ordinary criminal law.

(click here to continue reading Can Donald Trump Run for President Again If He Broke This Law? – The New York Times.)

So, maybe? Can a law passed by Congress supersede a provision in the Constitution? And will states allow a criminal on the ballot?

Photo Republished at Family law, adoption and the rights of children – Marilyn Stowe Blog

Doorway to The Royal Courts of Justice

My photo was used to illustrate this post

Sir James Munby only became President of the Family Division in January but he has certainly made his voice heard across legal circles in the eight months since then. In May he warned that people should only be sent to prison for contempt of court in open court. In August he discussed the impact of legal aid cuts, leaving many people caught up in serious family cases reliant on uncertain pro bono representation. … Photo by swanksalot via Flickr under a Creative Commons licence

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Family law, adoption and the rights of children – Marilyn Stowe Blog

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