Peter Baker for the N.Y. Times interviews and profiles Cheney in advance of tonight’s hearing. Explaining how she views her role in the House January 6 committee’s investigation of Trump, she say: “People need to understand how dangerous he is and how unfit for office he is.” Given this premise, I continue to wonder whether after today’s hearing in particular (which focuses on Trump’s conduct during the insurrection itself) whether we will see any congressional attention to the idea of enacting new legislation to enforce section 3 of the Fourteenth Amendment. It seems unlikely at this point, given the apparent lack of interest in Congress in pursuing that approach. But I continue to believe that it’s perilous to expect criminal prosecution of Trump will prevent him from being a presidential candidate in 2024. And for reasons I stated recently, I worry that the Republican Party’s procedures for conducting its primaries and nominating convention would enable Trump to secure the nomination with only a plurality of support within the party, a problem that the party itself could solve in a variety of ways but seems unlikely to do.

Moreover, a new congressional statute enacted this year requiring the Department of Justice to pursue civil litigation to disqualify under section 3 of the Fourteenth Amendment anyone who participated in the January 6 insurrection after taking an oath to support the Constitution, as Trump did, would given the investigation of Trump’s dereliction of duty more time. We are hearing a lot of stories this week about time potentially running out on the House select committee’s investigation depending on the outcome of the midterms, even as the committee continues to receive new relevant information. There is also a new Washington Post column, by Watergate prosecutor Richard Ben-Veniste, about the limited amount of time DOJ has, as a practical matter, for a criminal prosecution of Trump. A new statute authorizing, and requiring, DOJ to pursue civil adjudication to protect the 2024 election from candidates who qualify as insurrectionists under section 3 of the Fourteenth Amendment could extend into 2023 (needing to be completed before ballots are prepared for 2024 primaries).

As Liz Cheney told Peter Baker in the interview to describe the “enormous stakes” involved: “As a country, we’re at a moment where we really do have to step back from the abyss and it’s not totally clear to me that we’re going to …. The forces that want to drag us over the edge are strong and fighting. But we have to.” Given this, I would think she and the rest of the committee would want to consider every possible tool in the “protect democracy toolbox” and legislation to enforce section 3 of the Fourteenth Amendment, it seems to me, is at least one potential tool still worth considering.