The Supreme Court agrees to rule soon whether Trump can run for president
Election 2024
David G SavageJanuary 5, 2024
The Supreme Court has announced this
Friday
it will quickly decide whether former President Trump can be barred from the ballot because he “engaged in insurrection” after losing his re-election bid in November 2020.
The justices granted an appeal by Trump and his lawyers seeking to overturn a Colorado Supreme Court decision that would remove Trump from the ballot in that state.
The court said it will hear arguments on the case on February 8.
The announcement sets the stage for what could be a momentous and unprecedented decision on whether the frontrunner for this year’s Republican presidential nomination can be disqualified by a high court with six Republican appointees.
In their appeal, Trump’s lawyers argue that political parties and their voters should decide who is on the ballot, not judges.
The justices did not say which questions that would decide. Trump’s lawyers cited several procedural reasons for rejecting the state court ruling.
In a 4-3 decision, Colorado state judges said Trump was once again disqualified from office because he violated a provision of the 14th Amendment adopted after the Civil War. It removes all federal and state officials who take an oath to support the Constitution and then “engage in insurrection or rebellion” against the United States.
Trump’s lawyers argue that this provision cannot be enforced nationwide because Congress has not passed a law setting rules for the 50 states.
States are divided over whether Trump is eligible to vote. While Minnesota and Michigan declined to disqualify Trump, Maine’s secretary of state joined Colorado in saying he should be removed from the ballot.
The justices could also consider a claim by some legal academics that the president is not an officeholder under the provision of the 14th Amendment. They note that it refers to senators and representatives in Congress and to voters, but not to the president.
Other attorneys reject this claim, saying the amendment applies to “any office, civilian or military.” It would be absurd, they say, to ban insurgents from holding low-level offices but not the presidency.
The justices may also consider directly deciding whether Trump’s actions leading up to the Jan. 6 attack on the Capitol amounted to “an insurrection.”
A state judge in Colorado held a five-day trial on the issue, concluding that Trump had lied about voter fraud and a “stolen election” and inviting tens of thousands of his supporters to Washington to try to block the president’s congressional certification. Biden’s victory.
Fernando Dowling is an author and political journalist who writes for 24 News Globe. He has a deep understanding of the political landscape and a passion for analyzing the latest political trends and news.