Former President Donald Trump has been filtered from running in the 2024 presidential elections in Colorado under the Fourteenth Amendment, which prevents “insurrectionists” from holding public office, following the state Supreme Court’s initial ruling to reject his candidacy. Opponents nationwide have sought to disqualify Trump from the election based on his role in the January 6 riots.
The ruling in Colorado
The Colorado Supreme Court issued a 4-3 ruling stating that Trump “participated in” insurrection and must therefore be disqualified from the election in the state, a decision reflecting a previous ruling from a lower court which found that Trump could not be disqualified from the election under the Fourteenth Amendment even though he incited the January 6 riots. However, Trump will still be on the ballot, and the court’s ruling will have no effect until the final decision from the U.S. Supreme Court on this matter is issued.
Rulings in other states
Challenges to Trump’s candidacy are still being litigated in other states such as Alaska, Arizona, Nevada, New Jersey, New Mexico, New York, Oregon, South Carolina, Texas, Vermont, Virginia, West Virginia, Wisconsin, and Wyoming. Case trackers indicate that most of these lawsuits were filed by John Anthony Castro, a tax advisor running for president as a Republican, although he has already dropped cases in 12 states and courts in New Hampshire and Rhode Island have rejected his challenges, and the U.S. Supreme Court declined to hear his case in Florida after a prior ruling against him from a lower court.
What to watch
Trump’s spokesperson, Stephen Chung, stated on Tuesday that the former president will appeal the Colorado Supreme Court’s ruling to the U.S. Supreme Court, making it likely that the high court will intervene in this matter and resolve Trump’s candidacy issue at the national level. However, it remains unclear how the justices might rule, although the conservative 6-3 Supreme Court may lean towards siding with the former president. Tai Cobb, Trump’s former White House attorney who later became more critical of him, stated in an interview with CNN on Tuesday that he believes the decision could be 9-0 in the Supreme Court in favor of Trump. If the U.S. Supreme Court does not intervene in this matter and leaves it to the states to decide whether Trump is eligible to run in their jurisdictions, the Colorado Supreme Court’s decision will not directly impact any other states, meaning Trump would only be disqualified from the election in Colorado, but Reuters indicates that courts in other states may be influenced by Colorado’s decision.
Main criticism
Trump has vehemently opposed the lawsuits challenging his candidacy, with Chung stating before the Colorado Supreme Court’s ruling that they “represent the most cynical and obvious political attempts to interfere with the upcoming presidential election.” The former president and his campaign have attacked the Colorado ruling that disqualifies him from the election, with Trump declaring on Wednesday that it is a “sad day for America” and describing Chung’s assessment as a “totally flawed decision.”
Key background
Section Three of the Fourteenth Amendment prevents individuals from holding federal or state office if they have “engaged in insurrection or rebellion against the state, or given aid or comfort to its enemies.” Trump’s opponents argue that he should be punished under the Fourteenth Amendment for his actions following the 2020 general election, in which he sought to overturn the election and urged his supporters to riot at the Capitol on January 6, 2021. The debate over whether Trump should be disqualified from the presidency under the Fourteenth Amendment has intensified in recent months as the election approaches and Trump faces criminal charges related to his post-election activities. Legal scholars have diverse opinions on this issue, with some conservative scholars even suggesting that the case against Trump has merit. Conservative legal scholars William Baude and Michael Stokes Paulsen asserted in an article published in a legal journal that the January 6 insurrection disqualifies Trump from office, emphasizing that the provision is still in effect and ready for use, and state officials could block Trump from running without needing any additional legislation or court rulings expressly permitting it. State officials have indicated that they do not believe they have the authority to disqualify Trump from the elections themselves, leaving the issue of Trump’s candidacy to the courts.
Details
The Side Issue
The debate over Trump’s candidacy arises after the invocation of the Fourteenth Amendment during the 2022 midterm elections. Lawsuits were filed against Rep. Marjorie Taylor Greene (Georgia) for her role in the events of January 6 – which ultimately failed – and against former Rep. Madison Cawthorn (North Carolina), which became moot after he lost in his primary race. Koi Griffin, a local commissioner in New Mexico, was removed from office and barred from running again, marking the first use of the Fourteenth Amendment to remove a person from office since 1869.
Continued Reading
Trump disqualified from the election in Colorado: Here’s what will happen next – and why he is likely to remain in the primary (Forbes)
Trump is barred from the election in Colorado under the Fourteenth Amendment (Forbes)
Track the Section 3 amendment challenges to Trump (Loverfer)
Trump faces his first hearing regarding his presidential candidacy today – what to watch for in the Fourteenth Amendment case (Forbes)
Can Trump be excluded from the presidency? Why even conservative legal scholars support it (Forbes)
Follow me on Twitter. Send me a secure tip. Allison Durkee
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