|
|
Post by Admin on Dec 20, 2023 0:40:09 GMT
DENVER (AP) — A divided Colorado Supreme Court on Tuesday declared former President Donald Trump ineligible for the White House under the U.S. Constitution’s insurrection clause and removed him from the state’s presidential primary ballot, setting up a likely showdown in the nation’s highest court to decide whether the front-runner for the GOP nomination can remain in the race.
The decision from a court whose justices were all appointed by Democratic governors marks the first time in history that Section 3 of the 14th Amendment has been used to disqualify a presidential candidate.
“A majority of the court holds that Trump is disqualified from holding the office of president under Section 3 of the 14th Amendment,” the court wrote in its 4-3 decision.
Colorado’s highest court overturned a ruling from a district court judge who found that Trump incited an insurrection for his role in the Jan. 6, 2021, attack on the Capitol, but said he could not be barred from the ballot because it was unclear that the provision was intended to cover the presidency.
The court stayed its decision until Jan. 4, or until the U.S. Supreme Court rules on the case. Colorado officials say the issue must be settled by Jan. 5, the deadline for the state to print its presidential primary ballots.
“We do not reach these conclusions lightly,” wrote the court’s majority. “We are mindful of the magnitude and weight of the questions now before us. We are likewise mindful of our solemn duty to apply the law, without fear or favor, and without being swayed by public reaction to the decisions that the law mandates we reach.”
Trump’s attorneys had promised to appeal any disqualification immediately to the nation’s highest court, which has the final say about constitutional matters.
“The Colorado Supreme Court issued a completely flawed decision tonight and we will swiftly file an appeal to the United States Supreme Court and a concurrent request for a stay of this deeply undemocratic decision,” Trump campaign spokesman Steven Cheung said in a statement Tuesday night.
|
|
|
|
Post by Admin on Dec 20, 2023 19:07:31 GMT
The Supreme Court has become the ultimate force in the 2024 presidential election as the justices face several disputes over the fate of GOP frontrunner Donald Trump. The court has been at the center of several election controversies this century, from deciding the winner itself in 2000 in a controversial decision that gave the presidency to George W. Bush to having a vacancy on the bench be a top vote draw for Trump in 2016 and rejecting last-gasp GOP attempts to help Trump cling to power in 2020.  But now the justices will have to determine – quickly – if the former president is even eligible to be on the ballot and whether he’s immune to prosecution from special counsel Jack Smith, both controversies stemming from his efforts to overturn the 2020 election leading up to the January 6, 2021, US Capitol attack. “These are cases that the Supreme Court typically has the ability to duck, but that are really presenting themselves as national controversies before the court rather than the court reaching out to grab controversial issues,” Justin Levitt, an election law specialist at Loyola Law School, told CNN. “There are very few places to duck,” he said. This is on top of the already blockbuster term where the court will rule on if a safe and popular abortion drug will be readily available in states where abortion is legal, the scope of the Second Amendment and the future of environmental regulations. All those policy issues will also impact the ballot box. All this comes at a time where the public’s opinion of the Supreme Court remains at historic lows and ethics concerns continue to dog the justices. Chief Justice John Roberts’ attempt to head off criticism on ethics last month was quickly derided as toothless. In Colorado, the 4-3 majority on the state Supreme Court ruled Tuesday said that Trump was constitutionally ineligible to run in 2024 because the 14th Amendment’s ban on insurrectionists holding public office covers his conduct on January 6. “President Trump incited and encouraged the use of violence and lawless action to disrupt the peaceful transfer of power,” the justices wrote in the 134-page majority opinion. Anticipating Trump’s appeal, the Colorado justices paused their ruling until January 4. Once Trump inevitably asks the justices to review the ruling, the Colorado court’s pause will be extended until the nation’s highest court announces whether it will take the case – and, if it does, until it hands down its final decision. That means the US Supreme Court could be determining what happens more for the general election, not the primary ballot. “We have full confidence that the U.S. Supreme Court will quickly rule in our favor and finally put an end to these unAmerican lawsuits,” Trump campaign spokesperson Steven Cheung said in a statement. |
|
|
|
Post by Admin on Dec 21, 2023 6:36:04 GMT
DENVER (AP) — Former President Donald Trump’s bid to win back the White House is now threatened by two sentences added to the U.S. Constitution 155 years ago.
The Colorado Supreme Court on Tuesday barred Trump from the state’s ballot under Section 3 of the 14th Amendment, which prohibits anyone who swore an oath to support the Constitution and then “engaged in insurrection” against it from holding office. It’s the first time in history the provision has been used to prohibit someone from running for the presidency, and the U..S. Supreme Court is likely to have the final say over whether the ruling will stand.
If it does — which many legal experts say is a longshot — it’s the end of Trump’s campaign because a Supreme Court decision would apply not just in Colorado, but to all states. It also could open a new world of political combat, as politicians in the future fish for judicial rulings to disqualify their rivals under the same provision.
Some conservatives have even considered using it against Vice President Kamala Harris, who raised bail money for those jailed during the violence following the murder of George Floyd in Minneapolis. They said that also should be considered an “insurrection” against the Constitution.
WHAT’S THE IMPACT OF THE RULING?
So far, very little in the real world. Aware that the case was very likely going to the U.S. Supreme Court, the 4-3 Colorado Supreme Court majority stayed their own order until Jan. 4 — the day before the state’s primary ballots are due at the printer — or until the Supreme Court rules.
Technically, the ruling applies only to Colorado, and secretaries of state elsewhere are issuing statements saying Trump remains on the ballot in their state’s primary or caucus.
But it could embolden other states to knock Trump off the ballot. Activists have asked state election officials to do so unilaterally, but none have. Dozens of lawsuits have been filed, but all failed until Colorado.
The U.S. Supreme Court has never ruled on the meaning of Section 3. The justices can take the case as quickly as they like once Trump’s campaign files its appeal, which is not expected this week. The high court then could rule in a variety of ways — from upholding the ruling to striking it down to dodging the central questions on legal technicalities. But many experts warn that it would be risky to leave such a vital constitutional question unanswered.
“It is imperative for the political stability of the U.S. to get a definitive judicial resolution of these questions as soon as possible,” Rick Hasen, a law professor at the University of California, Los Angeles, wrote shortly after the ruling. “Voters need to know if the candidate they are supporting for president is eligible.”
|
|
|
|
Post by Admin on Dec 26, 2023 23:46:52 GMT
Former President Donald Trump holds a rally ahead of the Iowa Caucuses following the Colorado Supreme Court banning him from the state ballot in the 2024 election.
Trump reacts to Colorado Supreme Court ruling in Iowa
|
|
|
|
Post by Admin on Dec 27, 2023 5:40:29 GMT
The Federal Bureau of Investigation (FBI) has launched an investigation into possible intimidation after a Colorado court ruled that former President Trump is ineligible to run in next year's presidential election. The media reported.
On the 19th of this month, the Colorado Supreme Court ruled that, in connection with the storming of the U.S. Capitol in January 2021, ``Persons who engage in insurrection or insurrection against the United States may not hold national or state office.'' It ruled that Trump is ineligible to run for president based on the U.S. Constitution.
According to local media, since then, there have been posts online such as ``Hang the rat in court uniform'' and ``Throw the judge's baby in the trash,'' as well as attempts to expose the personal information of the four judges who supported the decision. This means that the number of posts calling for help has increased.
|
|
