Donald Trump gestures to supporters after telling them to march on the US Capitol to “Stop the Steal”, January 6, 2021 (Jim Bourg/Reuters)
EA on UK Outlets: Trump, Insurrection, and the 2024 GOP Presidential Ballot
EA on BBC: Colorado Supreme Court Bars Trump From 2024 Ballot Over “Insurrection”
UPDATE, DEC 29:
Maine has joined Colorado in disqualifying Donald Trump from the Republican primary ballot for the 2024 Presidential election.
While Colorado’s December 19 decision came through a ruling by its Supreme Court, Thursday’s in Maine was by the State Government. Parallelling the Colorado justices, Secretary of State Shenna Bellows determined that Trump should be barred because of his “insurrection”, trying to overturn the 2020 Presidential election before and during the attack on the US Capitol on January 6, 2021.
Bellows wrote in the 34-page decision:
I am mindful that no secretary of state has ever deprived a presidential candidate of ballot access based on Section 3 of the 14th Amendment. I am also mindful, however, that no presidential candidate has ever before engaged in insurrection….
The record establishes that Mr. Trump, over the course of several months and culminating on Jan. 6, 2021, used a false narrative of election fraud to inflame his supporters and direct them….
[He] was aware of the likelihood for violence and at least initially supported its use given he both encouraged it with incendiary rhetoric and took no timely action to stop it.
With no apparent sense of irony, given Trump’s effort to hold onto power despite the electoral outcome, Trump campaign spokesman Steven Cheung said the Maine and Colorado decisions were “partisan election interference efforts” that were “a hostile assault on American democracy”.
Later on Thursday, California Secretary of State Shirley Weber said Trump would remain on the ballot. Courts in Michigan and Minnesota have upheld his place in the GOP primaries.
Another court decision is expected in Oregon, where the Secretary of State has declined to remove Trump.
The Maine and Colorado primaries are scheduled for “Super Tuesday” on March 5.
ORIGINAL ENTRY, DEC 20: The Colorado Supreme Court has disqualified Donald Trump from the state’s 2024 Republican primary in the Presidential election, because of his role in insurrection leading up to the Capitol Attack of January 6, 2021.
In a 4-3 decision, the court issued the first ruling which finds that Section 3 of the 14th Amendment, disqualifying people who engage in insurrection after taking an oath to support the Constitution, applies to Trump. The majority wrote:
We do not reach these conclusions lightly. 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.
The justices directed the Colorado Secretary of State to exclude Trump’s name from the GOP primary. It did not address his status for the general election in November.
The Trump campaign said it will appeal to the US Supreme Court. Anticipating that step, the Colorado court put their ruling on hold until January 4.
Tuesday’s ruling reversed the finding of a Denver district judge that Section 3 did not apply to the US Presidency.
It affirmed the other key conclusions of the district judge: Trump’s actions before and on January 6, 2021, constituted engagement in an insurrection, and courts have the authority to enforce Section 3 against a person whom Congress has not specifically designated.
A majority of the court holds that President Trump is disqualified from holding the office of president under Section 3 of the 14th Amendment to the United States Constitution.
Because he is disqualified, it would be a wrongful act under the Election Code for the Colorado secretary of state to list him as a candidate on the presidential primary ballot.
Similar lawsuits have been filed in other states. Those in Minnesota and New Hampshire were dismissed on procedural grounds. In Michigan, an appeals court affirmed a judge’s decision that the issue was political. The case is going to the Michigan Supreme Court.
[Editor’s Note: Primaries are not an “internal party affair”. They are part of the electoral process, which in the US federal system is overseen by each of the 50 states.]
Can the editor please explain why the Colorado supreme court barred Trump from the Republican primary ballot – an internal party affair? Why are the primaries for the two main parties managed by the state? Isn’t this just admitting that the U.S has an entrenched two-party system?
[Editor’s Note: An opinion piece — with little factual support or analysis — from a graduate of the Moscow School of Law.]
Political Metamorphosis of Donald Trump into American Navalny: https://moderndiplomacy.eu/2023/04/08/political-metamorphosis-of-donald-trump-into-american-navalny/
“While media outlets were still arguing about the nature and ramifications of Vladimir Putin’s International Criminal Court (ICC) arrest warrant, an even more groundbreaking sensation arrived from New York: Donald Trump is facing multiple charges after Manhattan grand jury voted to indict him. Trump might be the first U.S. president in history to face a criminal sentence after the end of his tenure. The indictment may decrease Trump’s chances of being nominated as a Republican candidate for the 2024 presidential election or even prevent him from participating in the elections altogether. Curiously enough, a similar strategy has been previously utilized by the Russian ruling elite against the opposition politician Alexei Navalny in order to bar him from running for the presidency in 2018. Using the judiciary against popular politicians is usually associated with authoritarian regimes. Coupled with multiple controversies from Trump’s first term, the indictment may further erode public trust in the American electoral system.”