(PatrioticPost.com)- One federal judge who was appointed by former President Barack Obama is allowing a case to go forward that seeks to bar Georgia Republican Representative Marjorie Taylor Greene from running for re-election.
The suit is seeking to challenge Greene’s ability to qualify for re-election due to her alleged role in the attacks at the U.S. Capitol building on January 6, 2021.
The challenge was filed by a group of voters in Georgia in March. It alleges Greene helped to facilitate the protests that eventually disrupted Congress as members were certifying the results of the Electoral College vote that saw President Joe Biden defeat former President Donald Trump.
The challenge further states that these actions make her ineligible to run for election again, under a provision in the 14th Amendment to the Constitution that is rarely cited.
That amendment states that no one can serve on Congress “who, having previously taken an oath, as a member of Congress … to support the Constitution of the United States, shall have engaged in insurrection or rebellion against the same.”
The clause was adopted not long after the Civil War ended. It was passed, in part, to bar people who fought for the South during the Civil War from returning to serve on Congress.
Earlier in April, Greene filed her own lawsuit that asked a judge to declare the provision of the 14th Amendment unconstitutional, while also asking the courts to bar state officials from ultimately enforcing it against her.
On Monday, though, Judge Amy Totenberg denied that request for both a temporary restraining order and preliminary injunction. Totenberg serves on the U.S. District Court fo the Northern District of Georgia.
In her ruling, which was 73 pages, the judge said Greene failed to meet the “burden of persuasion” when she filed for injunctive relief.
State law in Georgia says any eligible voter has the ability to challenge the qualifications of any candidate. That challenge must be filed via written complaint within two weeks following the qualification deadline.
Once this is done, the secretary of state has to notify the candidate in question that a challenge has been filed, and then they must request a hearing be held before an administrative law judge.
After that hearing is held, the judge will present their findings back to the secretary of state. The person holding that office will then ultimately determine if the candidate meets the qualifications to hold office.
The challenge against Greene was filed on March 24 by Free Speech for People. That’s a national campaign finance and election reform group.
In her own lawsuit, Greene wrote that she “vigorously denies that she aided and engaged in insurrection to obstruct the peaceful transition of presidential power.”
While Free Speech for People won this round in court, they still have quite the tall mountain to climb if they want to successfully bar Greene from running for re-election to Congress.
