Hail Mary Efforts To Disqualify Trump on Ballots Are Falling Short, Ahead of Colorado Court Decision

A Colorado district judge is expected to rule on whether President Trump will appear on the state’s ballot by the end of this week after efforts in other states to disqualify him have so far been unsuccessful. Judge Sarah Wallace will hear closing arguments Wednesday in the case, which hinges on whether a Civil War-era “insurrectionist ban” can be used to keep Mr. Trump off Colorado’s ballots as a result of the January 6, 2021, riots.The lawsuit pending in Colorado is one of several state-level efforts that have led to growing calls for the Supreme Court to weigh in. Mr. Trump had a win against a similar disqualification attempt in Michigan on Tuesday, after a state judge ruled that his actions on January 6 did not disqualify him from being on the Republican primary ballot. Minnesota’s supreme court last week also dismissed an effort to bar Mr. Trump from being on ballots, finding that the court did not have the authority to do so. “This is an issue that should be brought to the Supreme Court on an expedited basis,” an attorney and George Washington University law professor, Jonathan Turley, tells the Sun. “The effort to disqualify Trump is causing not only deepening rage in this election but also magnifying the uncertainty over the choices for voters,” he says, adding that it is undermining Americans’ trust in the political system.Many Americans view disqualification efforts as a way Mr. Trump’s opponents can “achieve through the courts what may not be achievable through the election,” he adds. “The Supreme Court will often prioritize such legal disputes of great public interest,” Mr. Turley says. “It is too hard to imagine a challenge that is more dangerous and disruptive for the democratic system.”Section 3 of the 14th Amendment prohibits individuals who have sworn an oath to support the Constitution and then “engaged in insurrection or rebellion” from holding elected office unless by a supermajority vote in Congress, as the Sun has reported.Colorado’s complaint was filed on behalf of voters by the watchdog group Citizens for Responsibility and Ethics in Washington, whose representatives did not respond to a request for comment by the Sun. The group is arguing that Mr. Trump built up anger throughout the 2020 presidential election, ultimately leading to January 6, “when tens of thousands of his supporters gathered to ‘Stop the Steal’ where he encouraged them to be ‘wild’ and to ‘fight like hell’ to stop the election certification process.” Mr. Trump “fabricated doubts” about the electoral system and abused his power by threatening public officials, the watchdog group’s statement says. “The mob that Trump assembled and exhorted proceeded to storm the Capitol building in support of Trump,” the committee says. “He incited an insurrection and disqualified himself from serving in any office — including the presidency.”Mr. Trump’s campaign spokesman, Steven Cheung, said after the Michigan judge’s decision Tuesday that the campaign “welcomes these dismissals in Michigan and anticipates the future dismissals of the other 14th Amendment cases.” Mr. Cheung was not immediately responsive to a request by the Sun for comment. Mr. Trump’s lawyers are asking the Colorado court to “place aside the passions raised by this case and dispassionately apply the law.”“There seems to be little dispute that January 6, 2021, witnessed violence at the Capitol,” the filing states. “Here, the Court is called upon to determine whether President Trump ‘engaged in’ that violence and whether that violence constituted an ‘insurrection’ as those terms are used in Section 3 of the 14th Amendment.”

Hail Mary Efforts To Disqualify Trump on Ballots Are Falling Short, Ahead of Colorado Court Decision

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