The Colorado Supreme Court just invalidated Trump's candidacy because of his involvement in the January 6, 2021 insurrection.
• Also read: Colorado Supreme Court rules Trump ineligible in 2024
This ruling still has to be ratified by the Federal Court, which would be surprising, but it confirms what has long been clear: Donald Trump should not be president again.
Regardless of whether the criterion is the text of the Constitution or the intent of the Founding Fathers, the conclusion is similar: Donald Trump has disqualified himself through his actions.
Fourteenth Amendment
The Colorado ruling invokes Section 3 of the 14th Amendment, which was passed after the Civil War.
This clause prohibits access to a position of authority, whether federal or state, to any person who, after taking an oath to defend the Constitution, has participated in insurrection or rebellion against the United States. The intention was to exclude those who had broken their oath by participating in the Southern Uprising, but also to prevent any future uprising.
The Colorado court recognized the evidence that Republican senators refused to see during the impeachment trial in February 2021: an insurrection occurred on January 6, 2021; Donald Trump was in attendance; In doing so, he broke his oath and disqualified himself from the presidency.
The facts are clear
A riot actually occurred on January 6, 2021. This was recognized by the jurors at the trials that sent dozens of insurgents to prison.
The Colorado judges also recognized that Donald Trump participated in these events. His apologists will claim that he was not found guilty in the criminal case, but the standard of proof is not the same as in a criminal case, and the court has found that the evidence – the one we saw on television on January 6th, and the evidence revealed by the special congressional commission – is more than sufficient.
It might be better to rely on voters' judgment to disavow Trump, but the justices, for all their objectivity, concluded that he is no more eligible to run for president in 2024 than if he were born abroad or under 35 years old.
Double disqualified
If it is clear that a literal reading of the 14th Amendment should disqualify Donald Trump, it is also clear that his candidacy would have been viewed as ineligible by the Founding Fathers, for whom honor was an essential value for holding public office.
How can we recognize Trump as a man of honor who lies as he breathes, who mocks democratic norms, who gives a fascist speech, who racks up criminal and civil accusations and who is accused of fifteen sexual assaults and held responsible for one will rape be done by a judge and jury?
American democracy is in a very deplorable state since such a man is still a serious candidate for the presidency. The nine justices of the Supreme Court would do the constitutional order an immense service if they permanently closed the door to the White House, but it would be surprising if they put aside their partisan blinders and relied on the facts. We can always hope.