On Monday, Judge Amy Totenberg wrote in a 73-page ruling that Georgia voters may proceed with legal efforts seeking to disqualify U.S Rep Marjorie Taylor Greene from running for reelection to Congress. Free Speech for People, the national election, and campaign financial group filed a legal effort in March citing Rep. Greene’s involvement in the Jan 6th panel.
The challenge filed last month with the Georgia secretary of state’s office alleges that Greene helped facilitate the Capitol riot disrupted Congress from certifying Joe Biden’s presidential election victory. The legal challenge argues that Greene violated the 14th Amendment and makes her ineligible to run for reelection.
The Hill reports:
The amendment says no one can serve in 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.” Ratified shortly after the Civil War, it was meant in part to keep representatives who had fought for the Confederacy from returning to Congress.
Totenberg, who was appointed to the U.S. District Court for the Northern District of Georgia by President Barack Obama, wrote that Greene had failed to meet the “burden of persuasion” in her request for injunctive relief.
Georgia law says any voter who is eligible to vote for a candidate may challenge that candidate’s qualifications by filing a written complaint within two weeks after the deadline for qualifying. The secretary of state must then notify the candidate of the challenge and request a hearing before an administrative law judge. After holding a hearing, the administrative law judge presents findings to the secretary of state, who then must determine whether the candidate is qualified.
Greene said in her lawsuit that she “vigorously denies that she ‘aided and engaged in insurrection to obstruct the peaceful transfer of presidential power.”
Greene has remained highly popular within her district and is expected to win re-election unless the group’s legal effort succeed in derailing her campaign.
