Left: Rioters loyal to President Donald Trump at the U.S. Capitol on Jan. 6, 2021, in Washington. Liberal groups are trying to end Trump’s attempt to return to the White House by arguing that he is no longer eligible to be president after trying to overturn the 2020 election results.(AP Photo/Julio Cortez, File)/ Top right: Judge Sarah B. Wallace presides over a hearing for a lawsuit that seeks to keep former President Donald Trump off the state ballot in court in Denver on Monday, Oct. 30, 2023. (AP Photo/Jack Dempsey)/ Bottom right: Republican presidential candidate and former President Donald Trump speaks at an annual leadership meeting of the Republican Jewish Coalition, Saturday, Oct. 28, 2023, in Las Vegas. Court arguments are beginning in the effort to bar former President Donald Trump from running for his old job again. The first set of arguments started in Colorado on Monday, Oct. 30. (AP Photo/John Locher, File)
A judge in Colorado ruled on Friday that Donald Trump can remain on the ballot in 2024.
Colorado District Judge Sarah Wallace made the ruling on Friday, disagreeing with groups arguing that an “officer of the United States” “engaged in insurrection” is disqualified from running for office.
With the ruling, it is a near-certainty that the case will be appealed to the U.S. Supreme Court.
That would leave the question of whether the former president is disqualified from appearing on the ballot under Section III of the Fourteenth Amendment up to a conservative majority.
The New York Times reported that Wallace agreed that Trump did engage in insurrection, but Section III did not apply to him. The clause does not explicitly name the presidency, the paper reported.
Closing arguments were held on Wednesday.
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It was the latest decision after attempts to remove Trump from the presidential 2024 ballot sputtered out in Minnesota, Michigan and New Hampshire. He will remain on the primary ballots there for now. The judge in Minnesota did not rule out a challenge to the presidential ballot.
In Colorado, the six Republicans and one unaffiliated voter were represented by Citizens for Responsibility and Ethics in Washington. They made the strongest case and went the furthest distance to seek their goal. Judge Wallace dismissed multiple attempts by Trump to throw the case out altogether as things first got underway. She expressed keen interest in hearing arguments about the role Colorado Secretary of State Jena Griswold played in removing a candidate whose viability might be in question.
Under Section III of the Fourteenth Amendment, individuals who have violated their Oath to uphold the Constitution and provided aid and comfort to those seeking to go against it are barred from serving in public office. Only amnesty granted by Congress can be given.
In the Colorado petition, voters asked Griswold to remove Trump, pointing to a lengthy list of examples, arguments and evidence that they say proved the former president failed to quell the riot at the U.S. Capitol on Jan. 6, 2021, and claims that he routinely spread false information about the outcome of the 2020 election in hopes of illegally overturning the results.
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