Supreme Court takes up Colorado's decision to kick Trump off its primary ballot
The Supreme Court has agreed to consider whether former President Donald Trump should be disqualified from the ballot in Colorado, thrusting the justices into the heart of the 2024 presidential campaign.
The court will hear oral arguments in the case on Thursday, Feb. 8.
Both Trump and the Colorado voters who sued to bar him had asked the high court to weigh in and determine whether a part of the 14th Amendment designed to keep Confederates out of government after the Civil War should apply to the former president — and leading contender for the GOP nomination — later this year.
The question is an urgent one, since states are preparing to print ballots for absentee voters, military service members and Americans overseas in the coming weeks. Voters in Colorado mostly vote by mail and preparations before the contest on March 5 are well underway there. Colorado officials said Trump would remain on the ballot during the course of an appeal.
Last month, the Colorado Supreme Court set off the equivalent of a legal earthquake when it kicked Trump off the Republican primary ballot. The court majority concluded that he violated his oath of office and that his actions around the storming of the U.S. Capitol three years ago amounted to participating in an "insurrection."
Trump's attorneys urged the U.S. Supreme Court to reverse that ruling quickly, arguing that if it is allowed to stand, it would "mark the first time in the history of the United States that the judiciary has prevented voters from casting ballots for the leading major-party presidential candidate."
In a statement released Friday, the Trump campaign said it welcomed a "fair hearing" by the nation's highest court adding, "we are confident that the fair-minded Supreme Court will unanimously affirm the civil rights of President Trump, and the voting rights of all Americans."
However the justices rule, it could have implications nationwide. Besides Colorado, the secretary of state in Maine recently disqualified Trump from that state's ballot based on similar reasoning. Michigan and California reached different conclusions. Legal challenges are pending in more than a dozen other states.
Trump's attorneys told the court only Congress can decide who is eligible to serve as president. They said the actions by a court in Colorado and a state official in Maine deprived voters of their right to vote for a candidate of their choice.
Lawyers for Colorado voters said in their own court filing that "the Court should nevertheless decide the merits on an accelerated basis to reduce voter confusion and ensure that primary voters cast their vote knowing whether Trump is disqualified from the Presidency." Ballots there must be returned by March 5, Super Tuesday, to be counted.
Colorado's own Supreme Court took pains to acknowledge the consequences of its action.
"We do not reach these conclusions lightly," the court majority wrote. "We are mindful of the magnitude and weight of the questions now before us. We are likewise mindful of our solemn duty to apply the law, without fear or favor, and without being swayed by public reaction to the decisions that the law mandates we reach."
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Transcript
JUANA SUMMERS, HOST:
The Supreme Court has agreed to hear whether former President Donald Trump can be disqualified from primary ballots. The move puts the court at the center of the 2024 presidential campaign, where Trump is the Republican front-runner. The case involves a decision by the Colorado Supreme Court, but any ruling could cover the entire country. NPR justice correspondent Carrie Johnson has been following these developments and joins us now. Hi, Carrie.
CARRIE JOHNSON, BYLINE: Hey, Juana.
SUMMERS: Carrie, I have to say, the Supreme Court seems to be moving quite quickly here. Tell us why.
JOHNSON: Yeah. Just a few days ago, lawyers for Trump asked the high court to take this case. They say it's of exceptional importance - the first time judges have moved to bar voters from casting their ballots for a leading presidential candidate. And voters in Colorado who sued to throw Trump off the ballot there also wanted the Supreme Court to weigh in. Time is really of the essence since states print ballots early for absentee voters and military service members. The Supreme Court scheduled argument in this case for February 8, and a decision may need to come soon because Super Tuesday is happening in early March.
SUMMERS: That's right. And Carrie, what are the key legal questions that the court is facing here?
JOHNSON: This all revolves around part of the 14th Amendment that was passed after the Civil War to keep Confederates out of government. The language there says people who have taken an oath of office and then engage in insurrection can be disqualified from holding office. Some of the questions are - does that language actually apply to a president? Does Congress have to do something to ensure the candidate is yanked off the ballot? And did Donald Trump himself engage in insurrection nearly three years ago? The Supreme Court in Colorado answered yes, and so did the secretary of state in Maine, but other states have gone the other way. That's why it's so important to get answers that would cover the entire country.
SUMMERS: I mean, Carrie, as you've pointed out, both sides had been urging the Supreme Court to get involved here, and now they have. So what comes next?
JOHNSON: We've already seen a number of groups write friend-of-the-court briefs in support of Trump and to oppose him. More of that's going to come in the next few weeks. And it's going to be a continuing issue on the campaign trail. Trump is arguing it should be up to voters and Congress to decide these big questions, but his fate now rests with the Supreme Court, including three justices he appointed there.
SUMMERS: Right, and the court is already considering a separate case related to the Capitol riot on January 6. Tell us what's underway there.
JOHNSON: In that case, a former police officer who's been charged with crimes is arguing prosecutors used a law that should not apply to him. That law covers obstruction of justice for impeding an official proceeding - in this case, the certification of the 2020 election. But this former officer says the law is designed for accounting fraud and document tampering, not what happened at the Capitol three years ago. And this all matters because the Justice Department has used that charge in 300 cases related to January 6, including two charges against Donald Trump, who's pleaded not guilty.
SUMMERS: And tomorrow, of course, is the third anniversary of the ransacking of the Capitol by supporters of former President Trump. And Carrie, I know that you were at the Justice Department today for an event. What did leaders there have to say about January 6?
JOHNSON: Attorney General Merrick Garland said it was really an attack on the cornerstone of democracy. He spoke up to support the brave law enforcement officers who protected members of Congress that day. A hundred and forty of them were injured. He said his prosecutors would hold all perpetrators to account for their actions, presumably including the former president, Donald Trump.
SUMMERS: Thank you, Carrie.
JOHNSON: My pleasure.
SUMMERS: That is NPR justice correspondent Carrie Johnson. Transcript provided by NPR, Copyright NPR.
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