Trump Will Stay on Michigan Primary Ballot, as State Supreme Court Rejects Bid To Disqualify Him Under 14th Amendment

LANSING, Michigan — Michigan’s Supreme Court is keeping President Trump on the state’s primary election ballot, rejecting an effort to disqualify the GOP front-runner on the basis of the 14th Amendment’s “Disqualification Clause.” That constitutional provision bars from office officials who had previously taken an oath “to support the Constitution of the United States,” but then “engaged in insurrection or rebellion against the same.”The provision dates from the post-Civil War era and was written to prevent ex-Confederates from serving in the government. Critics of Mr. Trump’s activities on and before the January 6 attack on the Capitol contend that the event constituted an “insurrection” and the former president’s behavior triggers the Disqualification Clause.The Michigan high court said Wednesday it will not hear an appeal of a lower court’s ruling from groups seeking to keep Mr. Trump from appearing on the ballot.The state’s high court said in an order that the application by parties to appeal a December 14 Michigan appeals court judgment was considered, but denied “because we are not persuaded that the questions presented should be reviewed by this court.”The ruling followed a December 19 decision by a divided Colorado Supreme Court which found Mr. Trump ineligible to be president because of his role in the January 6, 2021, attack on the U.S. Capitol. That ruling was the first time in history that Section 3 of the 14th Amendment has been used to disqualify a presidential candidate.The Michigan and Colorado cases are among dozens hoping to keep Mr. Trump’s name off state ballots, pointing to the language in the Disqualification Clause.Mr. Trump pressed two election officials in Michigan’s Wayne County not to certify 2020 vote totals, according to a recording of a post-election phone call disclosed in a December 22 report by The Detroit News. The former president ’s 2024 campaign has neither confirmed nor denied the recording’s legitimacy.Attorneys for Free Speech for People, a liberal nonprofit group also involved in efforts to keep Trump’s name off the primary ballot in Minnesota, had asked Michigan’s Supreme Court to render its decision by Christmas Day.The group argued that time was “of the essence” due to “the pressing need to finalize and print the ballots for the presidential primary election.”Earlier this month, Michigan’s high court refused to immediately hear an appeal, saying the case should remain before the appeals court.Free Speech for People had sued to force Michigan’s secretary of state, Jocelyn Benson, to bar Mr. Trump from Michigan’s ballot. A Michigan Court of Claims judge rejected their arguments, saying in November that it was the proper role of Congress to decide the question.

Trump Will Stay on Michigan Primary Ballot, as State Supreme Court Rejects Bid To Disqualify Him Under 14th Amendment

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