Donald Trump blocked from appearing on presidential primary ballot by Colorado Supreme Court – The Colorado Sun
The Colorado Supreme Court ruled Tuesday that Donald Trump cannot appear on the states Republican presidential primary ballot next year because he is disqualified for engaging in an insurrection on Jan. 6, 2021, at the U.S. Capitol.
The stunning 4-3 decision is almost certain to be immediately appealed to the U.S. Supreme Court and is likely to have national ripple effects. Similar lawsuits seeking to block Trump from appearing on presidential primary ballots have been filed in other parts of the country, but no others have been successful.
The Colorado Supreme Court stayed its ruling until Jan. 4 to give the U.S. Supreme Court time to weigh in.
Colorados presidential primary ballot must be set by Jan. 5. Ballots start being mailed to military and overseas voters on Jan. 20. Election Day is March 5.
We do not reach these conclusions lightly, Justices Monica Mrquez, William Hood, Richard Gabriel and Melissa Hart wrote in the courts 132-page majority opinion. We are mindful of the magnitude and weight of the questions now before us. We are likewise mindful of our solemn duty to apply the law, without fear or favor, and without being swayed by public reaction to the decisions that the law mandates we reach.
Chief Justice Brian Boatright and Justices Maria Berkenkotter and Carlos Samour Jr. dissented.
All seven justices on the Colorado Supreme Court were appointed by Democratic governors.
In a written statement, Trump campaign spokesman Steven Cheung called the courts ruling completely flawed and vowed to appeal to the U.S. Supreme Court.
We have full confidence that the U.S. Supreme Court will quickly rule in our favor and finally put an end to these un-American lawsuits, Cheung said.
Electorally speaking, Colorado is unimportant in the 2024 presidential race. Trump lost to President Joe Biden in Colorado by 13 percentage points in 2020 and polls show he remains deeply unpopular in the state.
But the Colorado Supreme Courts ruling means that Trumps bid next year may hinge on Colorado. If the U.S. Supreme Court upholds the Colorado Supreme Court decision, Trump could be disqualified from appearing on the Republican presidential primary ballot in other states.
Citizens for Responsibility and Ethics in Washington, a liberal political nonprofit based in Washington, D.C., sued Colorado Secretary of State Jena Griswold in September on behalf of a group of Colorado Republican and unaffiliated voters, arguing that the former president shouldnt be allowed on the states presidential primary ballot because of his role in the Jan. 6 attack.
The nonprofit, which doesnt reveal its donors, claimed that Trump violated the so-called insurrection clause in the U.S. Constitution.
Section 3 of the 14th Amendment bars officers of the United States who took an oath to support the Constitution of the United States and then engaged in insurrection or rebellion against the same, or given aid or comfort to the enemies thereof from holding federal or state office again.
The lawsuit was first heard in Denver District Court, where Judge Sarah Wallace ruled Nov. 17 that while Trump incited an insurrection on Jan. 6, he can still appear on Colorados 2024 Republican presidential primary ballot because he is not an officer of the United States.
Part of the courts decision is its reluctance to embrace an interpretation which would disqualify a presidential candidate without a clear, unmistakable indication that such is the intent of Section 3, she wrote.
Citizens for Responsibility and Ethics in Washington appealed the ruling to the Colorado Supreme Court, arguing that a president is an officer of the United States. Trumps 2024 campaign also appealed, seeking to invalidate Wallaces finding that Trump incited an insurrection on the argument state courts dont have the power to rule on 14th Amendment challenges.
The Colorado Supreme Court heard arguments in the case on Dec. 6. The courts justices seemed to struggle with whether the 14th Amendment applies to former presidents.
Gabriel said it seemed absurd that drafters of the 14th Amendment wouldnt have meant it to apply to presidents. Justice Monica Mrquez said in her readings of the case law, she saw no rational reason for that type of an exclusion.
But Samour said it seemed odd that the presidents and vice presidents werent specifically called out in Section 3 of the 14th Amendment, the so-called insurrection clause.
If it was so important that the president be included, why not spell it out? he asked before packed chambers in downtown Denver, echoing the legal ambiguity on which the lower courts ruling hinged.
But the majority of the Colorado Supreme Court found Tuesday that Wallace was wrong and that the 14th Amendment does apply to former presidents.
President Trump asks us to hold that Section 3 disqualifies every oathbreaking insurrectionist except the most powerful one and that it bars oath-breakers from virtually every office, both state and federal, except the highest one in the land, the courts majority opinion said. Both results are inconsistent with the plain language and history of Section 3.
The majority also found that state courts do have jurisdiction in the case.
Were we to adopt President Trumps view, Colorado could not exclude from the ballot even candidates who plainly do not satisfy the age, residency and citizenship requirements of the Presidential Qualifications Clause, the majority wrote in its opinion. It would mean that the state would be powerless to exclude a 28-year-old, a nonresident of the United States, or even a foreign national from the presidential primary ballot in Colorado.
Finally, the majority ruled that Trump engaged in an insurrection on Jan. 6.
The record amply established that the events of Jan. 6 constituted a concerted and public use of force or threat of force by a group of people to hinder or prevent the U.S. government from taking the actions necessary to accomplish the peaceful transfer of power in this country, the courts majority wrote. Under any viable definition, this constituted an insurrection.
The majority also wrote that Trump did not merely incite the insurrection.
Even when the siege on the Capitol was fully underway, he continued to support it by repeatedly demanding that Vice President (Mike) Pence refuse to perform his constitutional duty and by calling senators to persuade them to stop the counting of electoral votes, the majority wrote. These actions constituted overt, voluntary and direct participation in the insurrection.
The Colorado Supreme Court ruling marks the first time that the insurrection clause has been used to block a presidential candidate from appearing on the ballot.
We of course know that the (U.S.) Supreme Court is the likely destination for this decision and were ready to present our arguments, Eric Olson, an attorney for Citizens for Responsibility and Ethics in Washington, told CNN on Tuesday night.
The plaintiffs in the Colorado case include Krista Kafer, a Republican activist and political commentator in Colorado; Norma Anderson, a Republican who was formerly the majority leader in the Colorado Senate; Michelle Priola, the wife of state Sen. Kevin Priola, who switched his party affiliation to Democratic from Republican in 2022; and Chris Castilian, former chief of staff for then-Gov. Bill Owens, a Republican.
Mario Nicolais, a Colorado Sun opinion columnist, is one of the lawyers representing the plaintiffs.
In a written statement, Anderson said the Colorado Supreme Courts ruling ensures that Republican presidential primary voters in the state are only casting ballots for eligible candidates.
Long before this lawsuit was filed, I had already read Section 3 of the 14th Amendment and concluded that it applied to Donald Trump, given his actions leading up to and on Jan. 6, she said. I am proud to be a petitioner, and gratified that the Colorado Supreme Court arrived at the same conclusion we all did.
Griswolds office took a neutral legal stance on the case. But after Wallaces ruling last month, the Democrat, in TV appearances, expressed shock at the outcome.
The idea that any official who would engage in insurrection would be barred from taking office except the presidency is incredibly surprising, she said on MSNBC last month. That basically means that the presidency is a get-out-of-jail free card for insurrection.
Griswold said in a written statement Tuesday that her office will follow court guidance in a nod to how the Colorado Supreme Courts decision is likely to be appealed.
In an 11-page dissent, Boatright, the chief justice of the state Supreme Court, wrote that Colorados election code was not enacted to decide whether a candidate engaged in insurrection. Instead, the state code lays out qualifications based on objective, discernible facts, such as a candidates age, time previously served as president and place of birth.
Those all pale in comparison with the complexity of an action to disqualify a candidate for engaging in insurrection, Boatright wrote .
Boatright said the Colorado law requires that any challenges to a candidates eligibility be heard at a breakneck pace, giving the defendant little time to prepare a defense and making the statute ill-suited for a claim of such gravity. This speed comes with consequences, namely, the absence of procedures that courts, litigants, and the public would expect for complex constitutional litigation, he wrote.
Samour, building off of Boatrights dissent, wrote in his 43-page dissent that he worries about due process given the speed of the case.
I recognize the need to defend and protect our democracy against those who seek to undermine the peaceful transfer of power, Samour wrote. And I embrace the judiciarys solemn role in upholding and applying the law. But that solemn role necessarily includes ensuring our courts afford everyone who comes before them (in criminal and civil proceedings alike) due process of law.
Berkenkotter, the newest member of the Colorado Supreme Court, wrote in a separate 25-page dissent that Colorados election code does not give authority to state courts to litigate presidential candidates eligibility beyond a candidate declaring they are a bonafide candidate, submitting a notarized statement of intent and paying $500 or submitting a write-in petition.
She said if the legislature wants state courts to have the power to adjudicate 14th Amendment challenges, it should do so by amending the election code. I just think it needs to say so, she wrote.
Other Republican presidential candidates seeking a spot on Colorados primary ballot include Florida Gov.Ron DeSantis, former U.N. Ambassador and South Carolina Gov.Nikki Haley, former New Jersey Gov.Chris Christie, former Arkansas Gov.Asa Hutchinsonand entrepreneurVivek Ramaswamy.
Dave Williams, a Trump ally and chair of the Colorado GOP, said the party would move to withdraw from the states presidential primary if Trump isnt allowed to appear on the ballot. He said the GOP would select delegates to the Republican National Convention through the states caucus process instead.
If the state refuses to let Republicans withdraw from the primary, we will ignore the primary results, Williams said.
Colorado Sun staff writer Brian Eason contributed to this report. Colorado Sun editors Lance Benzel and Dana Coffield also contributed to this report.
Colorado Supreme Court: See Anderson v. Griswold, Dec. 19, 2023. Source link.
Based on facts, either observed and verified directly by the reporter, or reported and verified from knowledgeable sources.
See the original post here:
Donald Trump blocked from appearing on presidential primary ballot by Colorado Supreme Court - The Colorado Sun
- Trump can still serve as president if he's convicted of a crime - The Washington Post - The Washington Post - April 11th, 2024 [April 11th, 2024]
- NY AG Letitia James is not done with Donald Trump - Business Insider - April 11th, 2024 [April 11th, 2024]
- Opinion | What Worries Me Most About a Trump Presidency - The New York Times - April 11th, 2024 [April 11th, 2024]
- Joe Biden is now beating Donald Trump in the majority of polls - Newsweek - April 11th, 2024 [April 11th, 2024]
- Election Live Updates: Abortion and Inflation Raise Issues for Biden and Trump - The New York Times - April 11th, 2024 [April 11th, 2024]
- Sebastian Stan Transforms Into Young Donald Trump in The Apprentice First Look - Variety - April 11th, 2024 [April 11th, 2024]
- Donald Trump could face prison time if he is convicted in upcoming NY hush money trial - USA TODAY - April 11th, 2024 [April 11th, 2024]
- Donald Trump's Stock Has Lost More Than Half Its Value Since Going Public - Newsweek - April 11th, 2024 [April 11th, 2024]
- Donald Trump booted from prestigious list of billionaires after Truth Social parent's swan dive - Fortune - April 11th, 2024 [April 11th, 2024]
- Donald Trump Movie The Apprentice to Premiere at Cannes: First Look and What We Know - Hollywood Reporter - April 11th, 2024 [April 11th, 2024]
- Election Updates: Trump says he would not sign a federal abortion ban if elected. - The New York Times - April 11th, 2024 [April 11th, 2024]
- Trump is first ex-U.S. president on trial, but other nations have done it - The Washington Post - April 11th, 2024 [April 11th, 2024]
- 'The Apprentice' First Look: Sebastian Stan Is a Young Donald Trump Building His Empire - IndieWire - April 11th, 2024 [April 11th, 2024]
- Johnson to Join Trump at Mar-a-Lago for 'Election Integrity' Announcement - The New York Times - April 11th, 2024 [April 11th, 2024]
- Stormy Daniels, Donald Trump, and the start of the hush money trial podcast - The Guardian - April 11th, 2024 [April 11th, 2024]
- Trump fails to delay N.Y. criminal trial for a third time this week - The Washington Post - April 11th, 2024 [April 11th, 2024]
- Why Biden Raising More Money Than Trump for the 2024 Election Matters - The New York Times - April 11th, 2024 [April 11th, 2024]
- How Voters Describe the 2024 Election in One Word - The New York Times - April 11th, 2024 [April 11th, 2024]
- Donald Trump biopic and new films by Yorgos Lanthimos and Andrea Arnold to premiere at Cannes - The Guardian - April 11th, 2024 [April 11th, 2024]
- What Is Trumps Weakness? Biden Seizes on Abortion to Attack GOP Rival - Bloomberg - April 11th, 2024 [April 11th, 2024]
- Fox News Hosts Argue Over Donald Trump Going To Prison - Newsweek - April 11th, 2024 [April 11th, 2024]
- Opinion | Impromptu podcast: Columnists on presidential campaign 2024 - The Washington Post - The Washington Post - April 11th, 2024 [April 11th, 2024]
- A total eclipse of Donald Trump: First felony trial could finally humble him - Salon - April 11th, 2024 [April 11th, 2024]
- 'Donald Trump did this': New Biden abortion ad features a woman who says she almost died because of the Texas ban - NBC News - April 11th, 2024 [April 11th, 2024]
- Donald Trump Backed Over Bond Reduction - Newsweek - April 11th, 2024 [April 11th, 2024]
- Election 2024 latest news: Biden campaign keeps focus on abortion with new Arizona ad buy - The Washington Post - April 11th, 2024 [April 11th, 2024]
- Trump campaign changes election rules to try to win in 2024 - The Week - April 11th, 2024 [April 11th, 2024]
- Donald Trumps Hush-Money Trial: What to Know - TIME - April 11th, 2024 [April 11th, 2024]
- Opinion | How the Pro-Life Movements Deal With Trump Made America More Pro-Choice - The New York Times - April 11th, 2024 [April 11th, 2024]
- The Apprentice: First Look At Sebastian Stan As Donald Trump & Jeremy Strong As Roy Cohn In Cannes Competition Film - Deadline - April 11th, 2024 [April 11th, 2024]
- Donald Trump Threatens to Start a Global Protection Racket - The Nation - February 16th, 2024 [February 16th, 2024]
- Trump's New York hush-money case will start March 25. It's the first of his criminal trials - The Associated Press - February 16th, 2024 [February 16th, 2024]
- Trump's Threat to NATO Is the Scariest Kind of Gaffe: It's Real - The New Yorker - February 16th, 2024 [February 16th, 2024]
- N.Y. judge orders Trump and executives to pay $364 million in civil fraud case - NPR - February 16th, 2024 [February 16th, 2024]
- How will Donald Trump pay the $438m he owes in penalties from civil trials? - The Guardian US - February 16th, 2024 [February 16th, 2024]
- Donald Trump ordered to pay $354 million in New York real estate fraud lawsuit - USA TODAY - February 16th, 2024 [February 16th, 2024]
- Donald Trump NY case ruling: Judge rules Donald Trump, Eric and Don Jr. must pay $354 million in New York civil fraud trial - WLS-TV - February 16th, 2024 [February 16th, 2024]
- Donald Trump and associates ordered to pay $364mn in New York fraud case - Financial Times - February 16th, 2024 [February 16th, 2024]
- Donald Trump ordered to pay over $350m in New York financial fraud case - The Guardian US - February 16th, 2024 [February 16th, 2024]
- Who Is Arthur Engoron, the Judge Who Penalized Donald Trump? - The New York Times - February 16th, 2024 [February 16th, 2024]
- The Civil Fraud Ruling on Donald Trump, Annotated - The New York Times - February 16th, 2024 [February 16th, 2024]
- Donald Trump pivots Laura Ingraham town hall from Spartanburg to Greenville - Greenville News - February 16th, 2024 [February 16th, 2024]
- Trump's Harsh Punishment Was Made Possible by This New York Law - The New York Times - February 16th, 2024 [February 16th, 2024]
- Judge rules Donald Trump owes over $350M in civil fraud trial, issues 3-year ban from doing business in New York - WABC-TV - February 16th, 2024 [February 16th, 2024]
- Trump ordered to pay over $350M for business fraud - POLITICO - February 16th, 2024 [February 16th, 2024]
- After Report of Navalny Death, Haley Attacks Trump Over Past Praise for Putin - The New York Times - February 16th, 2024 [February 16th, 2024]
- Why Don Jr. and Eric Are in Trouble in the New Trump Rulingand Ivanka Is Not - Slate - February 16th, 2024 [February 16th, 2024]
- Donald Trump Hit With $355M Fraud Trial Judgment; Banned From Doing Business In New York For Years - Deadline - February 16th, 2024 [February 16th, 2024]
- Trump has been ordered to pay $447 million in damages. Can he afford it? - Vox.com - February 16th, 2024 [February 16th, 2024]
- For Trump, Friday's verdict is not just business. It's personal. - POLITICO - February 16th, 2024 [February 16th, 2024]
- READ: The Bombshell Verdict Ordering Trump to Pay $364 Million - The Daily Beast - February 16th, 2024 [February 16th, 2024]
- No, Donald Trump is not Americas Navalny - The Washington Post - February 16th, 2024 [February 16th, 2024]
- Toby Keith's 'Courtesy of the Red, White and Blue' lives on in MAGA country - NPR - February 16th, 2024 [February 16th, 2024]
- Donald Trump ordered to pay $355M, barred from NY business in civil fraud case - New York Post - February 16th, 2024 [February 16th, 2024]
- Donald Trump civil fraud ruling: The $355 million fine and business restrictions could end the Trump organization as ... - Slate - February 16th, 2024 [February 16th, 2024]
- Highlights From a Key Hearing in Trump's Manhattan Criminal Case - The New York Times - February 16th, 2024 [February 16th, 2024]
- Read the full ruling from Judge Engoron in Trump's civil fraud trial - The Washington Post - February 16th, 2024 [February 16th, 2024]
- Eric, Donald Trump Jr. face weaker penalties in fraud trial verdict - Business Insider - February 16th, 2024 [February 16th, 2024]
- How Donald Trump is making the GOP the party of Putin - MSNBC - February 16th, 2024 [February 16th, 2024]
- Trump's Bank Fraud Trial Ends With $364 Million Gut Punch - The Daily Beast - February 16th, 2024 [February 16th, 2024]
- Donald Trump faces many signs of potential political trouble; here are a few of them - USA TODAY - December 25th, 2023 [December 25th, 2023]
- Mary Trump Makes Bad Prediction for Donald Trump - Newsweek - December 25th, 2023 [December 25th, 2023]
- Where is Donald Trump facing 14th Amendment challenges? - Yahoo News - December 25th, 2023 [December 25th, 2023]
- Something Stinks: Why #TrumpSmells Is Trending On X - Yahoo Entertainment - December 25th, 2023 [December 25th, 2023]
- GOP senators who voted to acquit Trump insist they dont regret it - The Hill - December 25th, 2023 [December 25th, 2023]
- Donald Trump says he is 'not a student of Hitler,' won't rule as a dictator - ABC News - December 25th, 2023 [December 25th, 2023]
- Donald Trump calls on court to block federal 2020 election charges - The Columbus Dispatch - December 25th, 2023 [December 25th, 2023]
- Lindsey Graham warns Donald Trump could lose in 2024 if he focuses on 2020 election - USA TODAY - December 25th, 2023 [December 25th, 2023]
- Opinion | 'Donald Trump Is No Moderate' - The New York Times - December 25th, 2023 [December 25th, 2023]
- John Roberts, Donald Trump and the ghosts of Bush v. Gore - POLITICO - December 25th, 2023 [December 25th, 2023]
- How the 14th Amendment could block Donald Trump from becoming president - WBUR News - December 25th, 2023 [December 25th, 2023]
- Howey: Donald Trump and the insurrection fallout - Courier & Press - December 25th, 2023 [December 25th, 2023]
- Donald Trump's history with Adolf Hitler and his Nazi writings: ANALYSIS - ABC News - December 25th, 2023 [December 25th, 2023]
- Trump asks appeals court to toss election interference case, arguing that he's immune - NPR - December 25th, 2023 [December 25th, 2023]
- Colorado Trump ruling leads to rise in violent online rhetoric - NPR - December 25th, 2023 [December 25th, 2023]
- Trump claims he's never read Hitler's 'Mein Kampf,' as he doubles down on anti-immigrant phrase - ABC News - December 25th, 2023 [December 25th, 2023]
- GOP Floats Tucker Carlson As Donald Trump's 2024 Vice President Pick - The Daily Beast - December 25th, 2023 [December 25th, 2023]
- Trump allies and MAGA luminaries move to kill off the Haley-for-VP buzz - POLITICO - December 25th, 2023 [December 25th, 2023]
- Donald Trump said an ad used AI to make him look bad. The clips are real. - Tampa Bay Times - December 25th, 2023 [December 25th, 2023]
- Trump Asks Appeals Court to Toss Election Case on Immunity Grounds - The New York Times - December 25th, 2023 [December 25th, 2023]
Tags: