The US Supreme Court accepts consideration of Trump's appeal to run in the Colorado primary
The justices will have to decide in the trial whether they will uphold and expand the Colorado court's ruling in December that Trump would not be allowed to run in the state, or whether they will overturn the measure. Since this is a Supreme Court decision, the regulation also applies to other states that dispute Trump's presence at the ballot box and thus to the entire country.
Trump is the Republican Party's favorite to become the President of the United States.
In the first session they heard arguments for and against the Colorado decision. The state court argued at the time that Donald Trump took part in an insurrection on January 6, 2021, when thousands of people breached the Capitol in Washington.
In the present case, the judges in Colorado understand that he violated an article of the 14th Amendment to the US Constitution and therefore could not be elected.
The case reached the Supreme Court because the former president's lawyers appealed Colorado's decision.
According to the press and US authorities, the judges of the court with a conservative majority tended to support Trump.
The court's chief justice, conservative Justice John Roberts, said in the session that the consequences of eventual approval of Colorado's ruling could be “pretty frightening.”
If Colorado's decision is upheld, Roberts said other states will pursue their own disqualification procedures for Democrats or Republicans.
“And it will only be a handful of states that decide the presidential election. That’s a pretty scary consequence,” Roberts said.
In this report you will learn the most important points about the Trump case:
Donald Trump lost the 2020 presidential election to Joe Biden but refused to accept the result.
On January 6, 2021, Trump was still president and gave a speech in Washington DC a crowd that entered the US Congress building after the speech (The building is known as the Capitol).
Years later, a group called Citizens for Responsibility and Ethics in Washington filed a lawsuit in Colorado state court seeking to disqualify Trump from the election because of his participation in the January 6 episode.
Supporters of Trump's conviction say he participated in an insurrection and therefore his candidacy would violate an article of the 14th Amendment to the U.S. Constitution.
The text stipulates that persons who have participated as authorities in an insurrection or rebellion against the United States cannot return to public office.
Does the rule apply to presidents?
The main argument from Trump's lawyers is that this section of the Constitution does not apply to presidents.
They say that there are details in the text (e.g. “President” is not explicitly mentioned) that in practice result in the rule not referring to presidents. Trump defenders have other arguments (see below).
How has the case progressed so far?
The judge at the Colorado trial agreed with Trump's defense. She understood that he was involved in an insurrection, but that the text of the constitutional amendment does not apply to presidents.
The case that reached the Supreme Court comes from Colorado, but there have been other decisions on the same issue in other states:
- In the state of Maine, the Democratic Secretary of State also decided to remove Trump from the ballot.
- In the state of Illinois, a retired judge who holds the role of comptroller on the Board of Elections suggested keeping Trump on the ballot until the court makes a decision, but said he believed the former president could not run ( the judge comes from…). the Republican Party).
Trump's other arguments
Trump's main defense is that the rule doesn't apply to presidents, but lawyers have other arguments:
- This is an unclear clause in the Constitution, and clarification should be made by Congress, not the courts.
- The attack on Congress on January 6, 2021 was not an insurrection because it occurred in a single location and there were almost no firearms or other hallmarks of an insurrection.
- Trump didn't get involved in anything, he just exercised his right to free speech, which is protected by law in the USA.
1 of 1 The Trump campaign said the Colorado action was aimed at “stretching the law beyond recognition” Photo: Carlos Barria/Portal The Trump campaign said the Colorado action was aimed at “stretching the law beyond recognition.” to expand beyond recognition” Photo: Carlos Barria/Portal
But was there any prosecution for the riot?
There is another argument in Trump's favor: deciding whether he participated in an insurrection requires a trial that upholds his rights, which has not happened in practice, the Colorado court only has decided that the article is valid President.
This section of the Constitution is rarely cited, so the Supreme Court has never decided a case on this section.
Trump's case is historic and a new law is expected to be created.
Isn't that a political judgment?
Members of the Democratic Party want Trump blocked from running, while people in the Republican Party say the former president believes there is a campaign against him.
The U.S. Supreme Court has six justices appointed by Republican Party presidents (three of them by Trump himself).
The other three were nominated by Democratic Party presidents.
There are conservative lawyers who say the text of the Constitution is clear and simple and that Trump should be barred from running.
Even among supposedly progressive judges, there are doubts: All members of the Colorado Supreme Court were appointed by Democratic governors, with three of seven voting for the former president.
What possible decisions are there?
The judges' decision can be divided into one of three categories:
- The court can Affirm the Colorado Court's decision.
- The court can decide that Trump cannot be excluded from the elections. The practical result would be the end of the Colorado case and dozens of other trials in their early stages across the United States.
- The Supreme Court can not make a final decision. This would keep many processes alive across the country.
According to the Trump campaign, more than 60 similar cases were filed, but most were dismissed on procedural grounds. If there is any uncertainty about the Supreme Court's decision, there could be more cases.