The attempt of a coalition of liberal groups to disqualify controversial GOP Rep. Marjorie Taylor Greene from running for reelection, claiming that she aided the Jan. 6 insurrectionists, got the go-ahead by a federal judge on Monday.
The lawsuit alleges that Greene coordinated with Jan. 6 protesters and fueled the violence with her militant rhetoric, including explicitly opposing the peaceful transfer of power in one comment.
Although they’re still many steps away from removing Greene from the GOP primary ballot, the ruling is a huge victory for the liberal activists and legal advocacy groups that initiated the anti-Greene challenge.
In line with the ruling, there’s a scheduled hearing Friday morning in front of a Georgia state judge that will hear arguments from both sides and ultimately decide if the disqualification clause of the Constitution applies in Greene’s case.
According to Ron Fein, the legal director of Free Speech for People, a legal advocacy group that is backing the challengers, the Constitution disqualifies from public office any elected officials who aided the insurrection.
According to the Constitution’s Civil War-era provision, officeholders supporting an insurrection are prohibited from serving again.
Greene can appeal should the state judge recommend her disqualification, but the matter may not be resolved before ballots are printed for the primary election scheduled for May 25.
She already denied any wrongdoing, stressing her opposition to political violence and calling the disqualification attempt an unconstitutional witch hunt.
District Judge Amy Totenberg of the Northern District of Georgia, an Obama appointee, pointed out in her ruling that the case involves a whirlpool of colliding constitutional interests of public import.
What’s important is that Totenberg’s ruling could reverberate Greene’s reelection campaign in Georgia because similar constitutional challenges are pending against other Republican officials.
They could even be lodged against former President Donald Trump should he decide to run again in 2024.
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