Donald Trump Urges US Supreme Court to Reverse Colorado Ruling
Former President Donald Trump is urging the US Supreme Court to reverse the Colorado Supreme Court’s ruling that removed him from that state’s ballot. The brief submitted by Trump’s attorneys sets out their arguments for why the state court erred when it issued the unprecedented decision last month.
Introduction
Former President Donald Trump is urging the US Supreme Court to reverse the Colorado Supreme Court’s ruling that removed him from that state’s ballot. The brief submitted by Trump’s attorneys Thursday to the high court sets out their arguments for why the state court erred when it issued the unprecedented decision last month.
Former U.S. President Donald Trump gestures as he prepares to deliver remoarks after attending the E. Jean Carroll second civil trial, who accused him of raping her decades ago, New York City, U.S., January 17, 2024. REUTERS/Shannon Stapleton
The efforts, Trump team argues, 'promise to unleash chaos and bedlam if other state courts and state officials follow Colorado’s lead and exclude the likely Republican presidential nominee from their ballots.'
The Colorado Supreme Court last month said Trump is constitutionally ineligible to run in 2024 because the 14th Amendment’s ban on insurrectionists holding office covers his conduct on January 6, 2021.
Arguments and Responses
The Court should reverse the Colorado decision because President Trump is not even subject to section 3, as the President is not an ‘officer of the United States’ under the Constitution. And even if President Trump were subject to section 3 he did not ‘engage in’ anything that qualifies as ‘insurrection,’' Trump’s attorneys argued.
The US Supreme Court agreed earlier this month to hear the case, accepting an appeal brought by Trump. The justices are separately involved in other matters that could impact the federal criminal case against the former president.
Oral arguments in the Colorado case are scheduled for February 8.
Republican Support and Legal Implications
Also Thursday, House Speaker Mike Johnson, Senate Minority Leader Mitch McConnell and scores of other GOP lawmakers threw their support behind Trump at the Supreme Court.
In a friend-of-the-court brief, the Republicans argue that the Colorado Supreme Court 'severely intrudes' on Congress’ power by allowing the Constitution’s 'insurrectionist ban' to be enforced without authorization from Congress.
Judges across the country are watching this case closely. The Oregon Supreme Court dismissed a similar case last week, telling the anti-Trump challengers that they might be able to refile it later, based on what the US Supreme Court does in the Colorado case.
