[Tell It Right]

A better legal argument for Trump is the Amnesty Act of 1872 undid the insurrection clause of Amendment 14 -- just like Amendment 14 itself allows Congress to do if they wanted to. Basically, the insurrection clause is no longer a relevant clause within the constitution (much like the 20th Amendment undid the 18th Amendment's prohibition of liquor).

Details at https://freerepublic.com/focus/news/4204657/posts?page=40#40.

[Political Junkie Too]

I've seen that argument before.

The problem is that a bill passed by Congress cannot undue an amendment. Only another amendment can repeal a prior amendment.

It's the equivalent of a President's executive order replacing another executive order versus Congress passing a law.

In the case of the 14th amendment, the argument is whether the amnesty act only affected the participants in the Civil War or does it nullify the amendment going forward in perpetuity?

We know that no Congress can bind a future Congress. That means that Congress cannot pass a law preventing a future Congress from doing something. Only an amendment ratified by the states can do this. This means that an amnesty act cannot eliminate the insurrection clause of the 14th amendment for all future use.

-PJ