By Aaron Miller-
Former U.S President, Donald Trump, and the plaintiffs challenging his eligibility for the Colorado ballot have both appealed a recent ruling to the state’s highest court in relation to the January 6 Insurrection.
Last Friday, a Colorado judge declared that Trump had incited the January 6, 2021, Capitol riot, categorizing it as an act of insurrection.
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Separately, Trump also issued an appeal to the Second Circuit contesting the $5 million E. Jean Carroll defamation and sexual assault. Trump called for the verdict should be overturned.
The judge dismissed the lawsuit on the grounds that the 14th Amendment, which prohibits individuals engaged in insurrection from holding federal office, does not apply to the presidency.
Trump’s legal team filed an appeal with the Colorado Supreme Court, expressing agreement with the ruling that allows him to remain on the state’s ballot but contesting other legal and factual findings. The appeal raises 11 issues that Trump’s attorneys argue demand review.
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Crew’s initial legal challenge had the objective of barring Trump from appearing on the ballot in 2024 due to an alleged violation of Section 3 of the 14th Amendment — a constitutional clause that prevents anyone from holding office again if they took an oath “as an officer of the United States” but then “engaged in insurrection or rebellion.”
The plaintiffs, represented by the left-leaning group Citizens for Responsibility and Ethics in Washington (CREW), filed their own appeal, urging the Colorado Supreme Court to rule that the 14th Amendment does indeed apply to the presidency.
The lawsuit, initially brought by CREW on behalf of four Republicans and two independent Colorado voters, contends that Trump’s actions on January 6 meet the criteria outlined in the 14th Amendment.
The constitutional provision prohibits individuals who engaged in insurrection against the Constitution after taking an oath to support it from holding any federal or state office.
While the Colorado District Judge, Sarah Wallace, concluded that the 14th Amendment does not prevent Trump from appearing on the ballot, experts believe that the dispute might ultimately reach the U.S. Supreme Court.
Both sides acknowledged this possibility in their recent filings.
The federal appeals court on Monday appeared poised to impose some restrictions on Donald Trump’s speech in his landmark election subversion case.
The three judges on the panel seemed to waver about exactly how to proceed in a case that needs to balance the right to free speech and inflammatory that could either incite hate or compromise the course of justice.
Both a criminal defendant and the leading candidate for the 2024 Republican, Trump is on unchartered territory, caught up between the drive for the top post of the greatest nation on earth, and a criminal investigation that has the potential to make nonsense of the highest of all ambitions, if factual grounds surface that Trump cannot defend.
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