[This post is co-authored with Seth Barrett Tillman]
Recently, James Heilpern and Michael T. Worley (the "Authors") posted an article to SSRN titled Evidence that the President is an "Officer of the United States" for Purposes of Section 3 of the Fourteenth Amendment. The Authors conclude that our position is incorrect. Their Article cites an "undeniable urgency" to answer this question. As often happens in anticipation of, and during fast-paced litigation, people who have no prior expertise in an area profess an immediate expertise, and make bold conclusions with the intent of influencing that litigation. This may be one such paper. For reasons we discuss below, Justices and judges, lawyers, scholars, and the press should exercise caution before citing this paper.
