State attorneys general have a duty to sue the city and state of New York, which rewrote federal election and state business-records law to interfere with the 2024 election, throw former President Donald Trump in jail, and disenfranchise tens of millions of Americans’ right to vote for their choice for President — all in violation […]
State attorneys general have a duty to sue the city and state of New York, which rewrote federal election and state business-records law to interfere with the 2024 election, throw former President Donald Trump in jail, and disenfranchise tens of millions of Americans’ right to vote for their choice for President — all in violation of the Supremacy Clause under Article VI.
Under the doctrine of preemption, states have no power, zero, to rewrite federal election laws, let alone to enforce them. States have original jurisdiction under Article III, Sec. 2 to all “controversies between two or more states,” and attorneys general have an obligation under the federal and state constitutions to ensure that one state cannot determine the outcome of any presidential election in this manner.
This is a constitutional crisis, and one that can only be cured by the states and the Supreme Court in a timely manner.
In addition, the city and state of New York have trampled upon the constitutional rights of former President Trump, including not only unconstitutional gag orders on his First Amendment rights, but also denial of due process under both the Fifth and Fourteenth Amendments, and violations of his Sixth Amendment right to have clear charges brought before him. Since these also impact voters’ rights to hear and see both candidates in the general election, state attorneys general have a duty to preserve their franchise in the Electoral College.
Failure to act by states and the Supreme Court would incentivize and perpetuate political prosecutions of presidential and other candidates for public office, with endless reprisals and show trials — effectively destroying faith in the justice system’s impartiality, the rule of law, the Constitution, and the civil society that the vast majority of Americans depend on. If both political parties cannot agree not to prosecute political opponents, we don’t have a country.
Rick Manning is president of Americans for Limited Government. This article is drawn from a letter Manning wrote to state attorneys general, dated May 31.
Rick Manning
