Donald Trump has urged the US Supreme Court to swiftly and decisively end his exclusion from Colorado’s presidential primary ballot. In a court filing on Thursday, Trump warned of potential “chaos and bedlam” if other states followed Colorado and banned him from primaries. The top court in Colorado had barred Trump in December, accusing him of engaging in insurrection over the Capitol riot. A similar ruling in Maine was put on hold by state judges on Wednesday.
According to the 14th Amendment of the US constitution, anyone who has “engaged in insurrection or rebellion” is excluded from holding federal office. However, Trump’s lawyers argued in the filing that this provision does not apply to the presidency since the office is not explicitly listed in the amendment. They urged the Court to reverse the Colorado decision, emphasizing that President Trump is not subject to section 3 of the amendment, as the president is not considered an ‘officer of the United States’ under the Constitution. Additionally, they argued that even if Trump were subject to section 3, he did not engage in anything qualifying as ‘insurrection.’
At 77 years old, Trump remains a leading contender in the Republican presidential race. His lawyers argued that disqualifying him from the ballot would disenfranchise tens of millions of Americans. The court filing provides insights into the arguments Trump’s legal team will present when the Supreme Court hears the case on February 8. If the Court decides in Trump’s favor, it could have significant consequences for his eligibility to run for the White House.
The Republican primaries in Colorado and Maine are scheduled for March 5, known as Super Tuesday, when several states hold their votes to choose party contenders. Postal ballots need to be sent out weeks beforehand, putting pressure on the Supreme Court to act swiftly.
Similar efforts to disqualify Trump in at least 30 other states are underway, according to his submission. Attempts in Minnesota and Michigan have already failed, while a state court in Washington struck down another bid on Thursday. The Supreme Court, which has a conservative majority with three justices appointed by Trump, faces a challenging decision in ruling on the application of the 14th Amendment.
Historically, the 14th Amendment, approved in 1866, aimed to prevent the return of Confederate politicians to powerful offices within the US government after the Civil War. However, its application in the modern day has never been tested. Legal experts have expressed skepticism about whether it can be applied to Trump’s case, given the lack of a clear definition of “insurrection” within the meaning of the 14th Amendment.
Another issue with disqualifying Trump on grounds of engaging in insurrection is that he has not been found guilty of such actions by any court. Despite this, legal experts have suggested that the court may view unfavorably claims that the presidency is not covered by the 14th Amendment, as argued in Trump’s submission on Thursday. Prof. Ilya Somin, a law professor at George Mason University, remarked, “If there’s anybody who’s an officer of the United States, it’s somebody who holds the highest and most powerful office in the federal government