The unprecedented case of Colorado vs Trump will go before the US Supreme Court on Thursday.
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You may recall that the State of Colorado opted to remove Donald Trump from their 2024 presidential primary ballot due to his role in the Jan. 6, 2021, attack on the US Capitol. The Colorado Supreme Court concluded that Trump’s actions (and inactions) on that date were in direct defiance of Section 3 of the 14th Amendment to the Constitution, which was enacted in the wake of the Civil War to disqualify federal (or state) government officials who had sworn to uphold the Constitution but then served in the Confederacy. It bars anyone who has served as “an officer of the United States” and has previously taken an oath to support the US Constitution from holding “any office … under the United States” if he has “engaged in insurrection.”
Last year, a group of registered Republicans and unaffiliated Colorado voters filed a lawsuit arguing that Trump should not be included on the state’s primary ballot. The lawsuit stated that as president, Trump had sworn an oath to support the Constitution but had engaged in insurrection on Jan. 6th. They highlighted Trump’s false allegations of election fraud, as well as his televised speech on the Ellipse back in 2021 urging his supporters to march to the Capitol, to “fight,” and to prevent Congress from certifying the results of the 2020 presidential election.
However, Trump’s lawyers have always argued that he had nothing to do with the Capitol Hill melee’ and that his hands were clean.
A state trial court deduced that although Trump did engage in insurrection, Section 3 does not apply to the president because the presidency is not an “office … under the United States” and the president is not an “officer of the United States.” Challengers appealed to the Colorado Supreme Court, which reversed the ruling. It concluded that Trump was disqualified under Section 3 from serving as president and it barred the Colorado secretary of state from listing him on the primary ballot.
Fast forward to 2024 and the Colorado vs Trump case is headed for the US Supreme Court on Feb. 8th of this week. The Colorado Republican Party and Donald Trump urged the court to take the case and to make a swift ruling. Their hope was to prevent Colorado’s ruling from setting a precedent, which could snowball into other states and knock Trump’s name off other ballots from East to West.
So, what’s expected to happen during Thursday’s oral arguments in Colorado vs Trump?
According to ABC News chief legal analyst Dan Abrams, he said he would be “absolutely shocked” if the US Supreme Court decides to uphold Colorado’s decision barring Donald Trump from the 2024 ballot.
“This is going to be a critical ruling,” Abrams told ABC’s This Week host George Stephanopoulos on Sunday.
“The question’s gonna be: What issue does the Supreme Court focus on? I’m going to be more interested in the oral arguments on — What questions are they asking? Meaning, there’s all sorts of outs here for the Supreme Court. There’s all sorts of ramps,” he said.
“The question is, are they going to view it substantively? Are they going to evaluate whether there was an insurrection or not? Or are they gonna ask questions more about, is the president covered by this? Is this something where there needs to be a conviction of the crime of insurrection?” Abrams asked.
“There’s all sorts of possible issues, and this is where the oral arguments get a little interesting, which is where their focus at least may give us a little hint as to what they’re particularly interested in,” he continued.
Ahead of Supreme Court hearing on whether the 14th Amendment disqualifies former Pres. Trump from holding office again, @danabrams says, “I have no doubt in my mind that the court will figure out a way to allow Donald Trump to remain on the ballot.” https://t.co/cNZ39HmIT9 pic.twitter.com/HG4aRRrkNP
— This Week (@ThisWeekABC) February 4, 2024
When Stephanopoulos asked if he thought the mostly conservative US Supreme Court was looking for a way to keep Trump on the Colorado ballot, Abrams was adamant.
“Absolutely,” Abrams replied. “I have no doubt in my mind that the court will figure out a way to allow Donald Trump to remain on the ballot. By the way, that may mean even just sending it back to the lower courts, et cetera. But I would be absolutely shocked if the court upholds the Colorado ruling.”
As we stated earlier, the Colorado vs Trump case is unprecedented, since no former US president has ever been accused of inciting an insurrection against the government — but then running for another term as president.
Stay tuned…
OK WASSUP! discusses the Top News Today:
Colorado vs Trump goes to the Supreme Court this week.
NBC News: The Colorado Supreme Court ruled against Trump in a Dec. 19 decision that Trump immediately appealed. The ruling is on hold while the Supreme Court hears the case, meaning Trump remains on the ballot ahead of the March 5 Republican primary. The case raises various undecided legal questions, including whether the constitutional language applies to those running for president and who gets to decide whether someone engaged in insurrection. In Trump’s own brief on Jan. 18, his lawyers outlined several grounds on which they believe the Colorado court ruling was wrong, saying a ruling against the former president would “unleash chaos and bedlam.” Among other things, they cite language in the constitutional provision at issue that says it only applies to someone seeking to serve as an “officer of the United States.” They argue that the president is not an officer of the United States. They also argue… Read more »