The Supreme Court will hear oral arguments Thursday on whether Donald Trump can be reinstated to the primary ballot in Colorado.
Trump, the frontrunner for the 2024 Republican presidential nomination, faces legal challenges that seek to remove him from the ballot in several states, with two having already barred his name from primary voters' consideration. The lawsuits argue that Trump is ineligible to run under Section 3 of the 14th Amendment, which bars officials who have sworn an oath to the U.S. Constitution from holding office if they engage in insurrection.
Colorado's highest court ruled in December that Trump had participated in an insurrection, relating to the events of January 6, 2021, when his supporters stormed the U.S. Capitol during the certification of the results of the 2020 presidential election. However, the ruling is on hold pending the appeal in the Supreme Court as oral arguments will be heard on Thursday to determine if Colorado has the power to strike Trump from the 2024 ballot.
Trump has maintained his innocence and said that he did not engage in an insurrection, accusing those filing lawsuits against him of attempting election interference.
Oral arguments for the landmark decision are scheduled for Thursday, February 8 at 10 a.m. ET and an expedited ruling could come within days or weeks.
The hearing will be live-streamed via the C-Span website and PBS News' YouTube and website.
The core of the Supreme Court decision is expected to be the interpretation of a small part of the 14th Amendment under section three that says that no person can enter Congress, become an elector "or hold any office, civil or military" who engaged in insurrection.
Newsweek has reached out to Trump's campaign and the Supreme Court via email for comment.
In response to the initial ruling in the case in December, Steven Cheung, a spokesman for Trump's campaign, said: "Unsurprisingly, the all-Democrat appointed Colorado Supreme Court has ruled against President Trump, supporting a Soros-funded, left-wing group's scheme to interfere in an election on behalf of Crooked Joe Biden by removing President Trump's name from the ballot and eliminating the rights of Colorado voters to vote for the candidate of their choice."
Meanwhile, former federal prosecutor and legal analyst Glenn Kirschner said last week that the Supreme Court is "likely" to allow Trump to be removed from state ballots.
In an interview on The Stephanie Miller Show on the Political Voices Network, Kirschner, a former assistant U.S. attorney and frequent Trump critic, discussed how the Supreme Court may rule in the effort to remove Trump from the ballot, adding that he believes the Court's "likely result" is that the former president is disqualified.
"I have a feeling they will find a way to say, 'You know what this really is a states' rights issue. This really is an original construction and textual issue and he's disqualified.' I think that is the more likely result," Kirschner said.
He said: "What I believe motivates the right-wing block of the Supreme Court is self-preservation. They want to remain above the executive branch, above the president, and they know if they do anything to facilitate Donald Trump's return to the Oval Office, he's already announced he's going to be a dictator day one, and a dictator has absolutely no use for a Supreme Court. So they're thinking that in the back of their heads, if not in the front of their heads."
Uncommon Knowledge
Newsweek is committed to challenging conventional wisdom and finding connections in the search for common ground.
Newsweek is committed to challenging conventional wisdom and finding connections in the search for common ground.
fairness meter
To Rate This Article
About the writer
Natalie Venegas is a Weekend Reporter at Newsweek based in New York. Her focus is reporting on education, social justice ... Read more
