In a recent ruling, a state court judge allowed Former President Donald Trump to remain on Colorado’s 2024 presidential primary ballot. This decision pertains to several lawsuits that challenge Trump’s candidacy under the Fourteenth Amendment of the US Constitution. Full Story Here.
Denver District Court Judge Sarah B. Wallace ruled for Trump to be included in the primary ballot, despite acknowledging that Trump “engaged in insurrection,” a charge that is based in part on the testimony of witnesses including Representative Eric Swalwell and police officers who were present during the Capitol riot.
The lawsuit was initiated by six Republican and unaffiliated Colorado voters, including former state, federal and local officials backed by left-leaning ethics watchdog, Citizens for Responsibility and Ethics in Washington (CREW). They argue that by allegedly inciting the Capitol riot on January 6, 2021, Trump violated the Fourteenth Amendment, which bars individuals from holding public office if they have engaged in insurrection or rebellion against the US.
The proceedings in Colorado are but part of broader legal challenges to Trump’s potential candidacy in 2024. In fact, similar suits are pending in more than a dozen other states. A recent Michigan case, though dismissed, highlighted that the state’s secretary of state cannot remove candidates from the ballot under the Fourteenth Amendment. Elsewhere, on November 8, the Minnesota Supreme Court upheld Trump’s placement on the Republican primary ballot for the 2024 presidential race.
Recourse to the Fourteenth Amendment is not a novel phenomenon in recent US politics. During the 2022 midterms, for instance, unsuccessful attempts were made to remove Represent
ative Marjorie Taylor Greene from office under this very amendment. However, it was successfully invoked in the case of local New Mexico commissioner Couy Griffin. After being convicted of illegally entering the Capitol grounds on January 6, Griffin was also removed from office and banned from seeking re-election, marking the Fourteenth Amendment’s first use since 1869 for removing a public official.
Given the diverse and shifting trajectory of legal challenges to Trump’s prospective 2024 candidacy, it remains crucial for legal professionals to monitor these developments closely as they evolve.