The Colorado Supreme Court is set to hear oral arguments Wednesday afternoon in a closely watched case about whether the US Constitution’s ban on insurrectionists from holding office applies to former President Donald Trump.
This is one of several 14th Amendment challenges against Trump’s candidacy, which so far have failed to remove him from a single ballot. Legal experts from both sides expect that one of these cases will ultimately reach the US Supreme Court, which could settle the issue before the Republican primaries begin with the Iowa caucuses in January.
After a weeklong bench trial last month, Colorado District Judge Sarah Wallace ruled that Trump “engaged in an insurrection” on January 6, 2021, and “acted with the specific intent to incite political violence.”
But she concluded that the insurrectionist ban doesn’t apply to the presidency, based on the text of the post-Civil War constitutional amendment.
The provision says officials who take an oath to support the Constitution are disqualified from office if they “engaged in insurrection.” It explicitly prohibits them from serving as senators, representatives and other offices – but it doesn’t mention the presidency.
The anti-Trump challengers appealed Wallace’s conclusion that the ban doesn’t apply to the presidency. Trump appealed many of the other findings in Wallace’s stunning 102-page ruling. Both sides will present arguments at Wednesday’s two-hour hearing.
All seven justices on Colorado’s high court were appointed by Democratic governors.
The hearing in Denver is scheduled to begin at 3 p.m. ET.
Lawyers for the challengers, who are Republican and independent Colorado voters, told the court in a filing that there is “overwhelming historical consensus” that the provision known as Section 3 of the 14th…
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