The Colorado trial to decide whether or not to remove Trump from the ballot in 2024 has begun

The Colorado trial to decide whether or not to remove Trump from the ballot in 2024 has begun
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Arguments in a lawsuit to exclude former President Donald Trump from the state’s 2024 ballot due to his involvement in the Capitol attack on January 6, 2021, will be heard by a Denver court on Monday.

The latest attempt by Trump to get the case dismissed was denied by Colorado Judge Sarah Wallace last week. The action was launched last month in Denver District Court on behalf of six voters.

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The complaint contends that Trump ought to be disqualified from seeking office in the future by referencing Section 3 of the Constitution, which says that an individual cannot hold office if they have “engaged in insurrection or rebellion” after taking an oath to uphold and defend the Constitution. The lawsuit claims that in an attempt to rig the 2020 election and set the stage for the Capitol attack on January 6, Trump broke his oath of office.

Six Republican and independent voters filed the complaint with the help of various legal firms and Citizens for Responsibility and Ethics in Washington.

Wallace rejected Trump’s contention last week that the courts should not have the power to decide issues pertaining to ballot eligibility; instead, Congress should. She also disagreed with Trump’s assertion that state election authorities lack the jurisdiction to uphold the 14th Amendment’s Section 3 rights.

It “says nothing regarding which government body would adjudicate or determine such disability in the first instance,” the judge observed, noting that the language “clearly gives Congress the ability to remove a constitutional disability should a person be disqualified” under the provision.

“The Court observes that it would be peculiar if Congress were the sole body with the authority to identify a disability and then the body with the authority to remove it,” Wallace wrote.

“States have and can apply Section 3 in accordance with state statutes without federal enforcement legislation,” according to Wallace.

Chief U.S. District Judge Philip A. Brimmer dismissed Trump’s motion to transfer the Colorado ballot matter to federal court, and Wallace’s judgment followed. In a four-page ruling, George W. Bush appointee Brimmer stated that Trump’s attempt to transfer the matter to federal court was “defective” since he failed to properly serve Democratic Secretary of State of Colorado Jena Griswold or get her consent.

In addition, Trump is up against other obstacles over his ability to run for president in 2024. Thursday will mark the start of arguments before the Minnesota Supreme Court in a lawsuit to remove Trump from the state’s ballot, which also makes use of the obscure clause found in the Constitution’s 14th Amendment. In Arizona, Michigan, and New Hampshire, similar legal challenges are pending.

Trump has consistently denied any impropriety in his attempts to have the election results overturned, as well as his involvement in the attack on the Capitol. Trump continues to falsely declare that he won the 2020 election. He referred to as “nonsense” and “election interference” the Colorado lawsuit that sought to remove him from the ballot under the 14th Amendment.

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