The Supreme Court will decide whether former President Donald Trump can be disqualified from the state’s presidential ballot after the Colorado Supreme Court found he violated the so-called “Rebellion Clause” of the Constitution.
In a brief order Friday afternoon, the high court announced it would hear arguments Feb. 8 in the 77-year-old’s challenge to the Centennial State decision, which was temporarily removed from the state’s March 5 Republican primary vote.
With voters already casting ballots in primaries and caucuses across the country by the time the case comes to trial, a decision will likely follow quickly.
The Colorado decision, released on December 19, cited Trump’s attempt to overturn the 2020 election results that led to the January 6, 2021 Capitol riots as evidence that he violated Section 3 of the 14th Amendment, which bars those who violate their oath of office and “involve in rebellion” from holding high office again.
In an appeal filed on Wednesday, Trump’s lawyers have argued that “[i]in the system of ‘government of the people, by the people, [and] for the people,’ the Colorado decision is not and cannot be right.”
“The question of eligibility to serve as President of the United States is properly reserved for Congress, not the state courts, to consider and decide,” the filing added.
The Supreme Court will hear former President Donald Trump’s challenge to Colorado’s vote withdrawal next month. POOL/AFP via Getty Images
“By considering the question of President Trump’s qualifications and barring him from the ballot, the Colorado Supreme Court casts doubt on the authority of Congress.”
The former president’s legal team argued for the Colorado decision to be overturned on three grounds: First, the presidency is not one of the offices covered by Section 3; second, that the Colorado Supreme Court had wrongly characterized the 45th president as having “engaged” in the violence of the day; and third, that the court violated the Constitution by interfering in the matter at all.
The Colorado Supreme Court stayed its own decision pending Trump’s appeal, and Secretary of State Jena Griswold confirmed on December 28 that Trump will remain on the 2024 primary ballot unless the US Supreme Court upholds the state court’s decision.
The Colorado decision, issued on December 19, cited Trump’s attempt to overturn the results of the 2020 election that led to the Capitol riots on January 6, 2021 as evidence that he violated Section 3 of the 14th Amendment. AFP via Getty Images
The original suit to keep Trump off the Colorado ballot was brought by a group of voters under the auspices of the liberal group Citizens for Responsibility and Ethics in Washington (CREW).
“This case is very important to the country,” attorneys for the Colorado plaintiffs told the Supreme Court. “And given the upcoming presidential election schedule, there is no time to wait for those issues to permeate further. The court should resolve this case on an accelerated schedule, so that voters in Colorado and elsewhere will know whether Trump is indeed unconstitutionally unqualified when they cast their primary ballots.”
Democratic Maine Secretary of State Shenna Bellows separately disqualified Trump from her state’s Dec. 28 ballot, finding the Capitol riots, “occurred at the behest of, and with the knowledge and support of, the outgoing President.”
In their appeal filed on Wednesday, Trump’s lawyers have argued that “[i]in the system of ‘government of the people, by the people, [and] for the people,’ the Colorado decision is not and cannot be right.” AP
The former president separately appealed Bellows’ decision in Maine state court.
Other challenges to Trump’s vote eligibility — heard in states including Arizona, Florida, Michigan, Minnesota, New Hampshire, Rhode Island, Virginia and West Virginia — have been rejected by state and federal judges.
“We welcome a fair trial at the Supreme Court to argue against the bad faith, election meddling, voter suppression, Democrat-backed and Biden-led, 14th amendment abuse of the decision to remove President Trump’s name from the 2024 ballot in the state of Colorado, ” said Trump campaign spokesman Steven Cheung in a statement. “The so-called ‘ballot challenge’ cases are part of a well-funded effort by left-wing political activists determined to stop President Trump’s legitimate re-election this November, even if it means disenfranchising voters.
“President Trump dominated the election, and Biden’s presidency has disappointed all Americans,” Cheung added. “We are confident that a fair-minded Supreme Court will unanimously uphold President Trump’s civil rights, and the voting rights of all Americans in a decision that will eliminate all remaining voter challenge fraud once and for all.”
The Supreme Court has never before decided a case involving Section 3 of the 14th Amendment, which has been used at least eight times since it was enacted in 1868.
Five of those actions were taken against former Confederates, one of whom – Zebulon Vance – was elected to the Senate from North Carolina after the Civil War and served in that position for 15 years.
In September 2022, a New Mexico judge removed Otero County Commissioner Couy Griffin from office after he was found guilty of trespassing in connection with the Capitol riots.
With Postal wire
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Source: thtrangdai.edu.vn/en/
