01/03/2024 11:49 pm (current 01/04/2024 12:00 pm)
The former president wants to overturn the Colorado court decision ©APA/AFP
Former US President Donald Trump appealed to the United States Supreme Court to enforce his participation in the primary elections in the state of Colorado. Trump's campaign team announced this on Wednesday (local time). With this measure, Trump wants to overturn a decision by Colorado's highest court, according to which he was disqualified from the primary elections in the state due to his role in the storming of the Capitol in 2021. The change was expected.
An opinion from the Washington Supreme Court was not initially available. On Tuesday it became known that Trump appealed his exclusion from the Maine primaries. The primaries for the November presidential election begin on January 15.
In the US, primaries and the presidential elections themselves take place at the state level in accordance with respective laws and regulations. Therefore, they decide who can participate and how voting takes place. In Colorado and Maine, Trump is charged with insurrection under Section 3 of the 14th Amendment in connection with the storming of the Capitol by his supporters on January 6, 2021. This means that Trump will no longer be able to hold office in the US. He denies the accusation. Trump and his allies speak of a conspiracy to prevent him from returning to the White House. His lawyers also argue that only Congress can enforce Section 3 and that presidents are excluded from the rule anyway.
How the Supreme Court might rule is unclear. The court is dominated by a conservative majority; three of the nine justices were appointed by Trump. In particular, it is unclear whether they are even addressing the question of whether Trump is guilty of insurrection. For example, the court could only rule that Section 3 does not apply to the President. Excluding Trump from the elections would be equivalent to a political earthquake.