Clinton-linked lawyer says Trump could be barred from re-election after FBI raid, cites US Code

Marc Elias, a top lawyer for Hillary Clinton's 2016 presidential campaign, said Monday that former President Trump could be disqualified from making another run at the White House in 2024 following the FBI raid of his Florida residence.

FBI agents executed a search warrant of Trump's Mar-a-Lago property on Monday reportedly seeking classified documents he allegedly took from the White House when he left office in 2021. The search warrant was conducted in connection with the National Archives, according to a senior government official.

This led Elias to cite U. S. Code Title 18, Section 2071 to highlight that Trump could be barred from seeking public office again, as the former president continues to drop hints that he will soon announce plans to seek a second term as commander-in-chief.

"The media is missing the really, really big reason why the raid today is a potential blockbuster in American politics," Elias wrote in a tweet.

Elias pointed to the passage of U. S. Code Title 18, Section 2071 that states, "Whoever, having the custody of any such record, proceeding, map, book, document, paper, or other thing, willfully and unlawfully conceals, removes, mutilates, obliterates, falsifies, or destroys the same, shall be fined under this title or imprisoned not more than three years, or both; and shall forfeit his office and be disqualified from holding any office under the United States."

However, legal challenges could make efforts to prevent Trump from running again under this code difficult, Elias noted in a follow-up tweet.

"Yes, I recognize the legal challenge that application of this law to a president would garner (since qualifications are set in Constitution). But the idea that a candidate would have to litigate this is during a campaign is in my view a ‘blockbuster in American politics,’" he wrote.... (Read more)

Latest News