Epic Battle: Legal Obstacles Fail to Thwart Trump's Path to the 2024 Colorado Ballot
Judge denies three more attempts by Trump and Colorado GOP to dismiss lawsuit blocking Trump from 2024 Colorado ballot based on 14th Amendment's insurrectionist ban
Three additional efforts made by former President Donald Trump and the Colorado GOP to halt a lawsuit preventing his inclusion on the 2024 presidential ballot in Colorado, citing the "insurrectionist ban" of the 14th Amendment, have been rejected by a judge. The series of rulings issued by Colorado District Judge Sarah Wallace on Friday evening deal a significant blow to Trump, as he continues to face legal obstacles in various states due to his involvement in the January 6, 2021, insurrection. Although a motion to dismiss the Colorado lawsuit remains pending, it seems likely that the case will proceed to an unprecedented trial within this month.
The 14th Amendment of the US Constitution, enacted after the Civil War, disqualifies US officials who have supported insurrection or provided aid to insurrectionists from holding future office. However, the specific method of enforcing this ban is not specified in the Constitution and has only been applied twice since the 1800s.
A liberal watchdog group, Citizens for Responsibility and Ethics in Washington, has filed a case in Colorado on behalf of six Republican and unaffiliated voters. The judge is scheduled to preside over a trial starting on October 30 to determine the applicability of the 14th Amendment to Trump and address a range of novel legal questions.
In a 24-page ruling, Wallace dismissed numerous arguments made by Trump that claimed procedural flaws in the case and called for its closure. She stated that the crucial question of whether Colorado Secretary of State Jena Griswold has the authority to prevent Trump from being on the ballot, based on the 14th Amendment, "is an important issue that should be addressed in a trial."
Additionally, Wallace rejected the Colorado GOP's claims that state law grants them, rather than election officials, the final decision on which candidates are included on the ballot.
In the absence of any oversight, if the Party has the ability to select its preferred candidate, there is a potential for them to nominate individuals without consideration of their age, citizenship, or residency. According to the writer, this interpretation is illogical, as the Constitution clearly outlines requirements for eligibility that should not be disregarded and left to the discretion of political parties.
Moreover, Wallace referred to a 2012 opinion expressed by Supreme Court Justice Neil Gorsuch, in which he stated that states possess the authority to exclude candidates from the ballot if they are constitutionally prohibited from assuming office. Wallace used this reference to reject President Trump's assertion that Colorado's ballot access laws do not grant state officials the power to disqualify him based on federal constitutional considerations.
Trump had previously attempted to have the case dismissed based on free-speech arguments but was unsuccessful.
As the current leading candidate for the GOP, Trump denies any wrongdoing in relation to the events of January 6 and has pleaded not guilty to both state and federal charges related to his efforts to overturn the 2020 election. His campaign has dismissed the lawsuits as a baseless conspiracy theory and criticized the plaintiffs for distorting the law.
Colorado and other key states face significant challenges in invoking the 14th Amendment in order to disqualify Trump from running for the presidency. His inevitable appeal of any decision to remove him from the ballot means that the Supreme Court, leaning conservative due to its supermajority, may ultimately have the final say. In recent months, a wide range of legal scholars, representing various political backgrounds, have increasingly supported the notion that Trump is ineligible for future office under the "insurrectionist ban." This position aligns with the bipartisan House committee's recommendation from the previous year, which stated that Trump should be barred from holding any future office in accordance with the 14th Amendment.
The Colorado challengers recently revealed in a court filing that they want to depose Trump before trial. Trump opposes this request, and the judge hasnt issued a ruling.
