Current:Home > MyDoes Jan. 6 constitutionally block Trump from 2024 ballot? Lawyers to make case on day 2 of hearing-DB Wealth Institute B2 Expert Reviews
Does Jan. 6 constitutionally block Trump from 2024 ballot? Lawyers to make case on day 2 of hearing
View Date:2024-12-23 15:02:36
DENVER (AP) — The videos playing in a Colorado courtroom were both chilling and, by now, familiar — a violent mob, with some wearing tactical gear, smashing through the U.S. Capitol, attacking police officers and chanting “Hang Mike Pence!”
Now, lawyers on day two of the weeklong hearing are arguing whether the infamous events of Jan. 6, 2021 constituted an insurrection under a rarely used clause of the U.S. Constitution that they are trying to use to disqualify former President Donald Trump from the 2024 ballot. The hearing in Colorado is one of two this week — with the second before the Minnesota Supreme Court on Thursday — that could end up before the U.S. Supreme Court, which has never before ruled on the Civil War-era provision in the 14th Amendment.
Tuesday’s witnesses are expected to include an expert in right-wing violence and an expert on Section Three of the 14th Amendment, which has only been used a handful of times since it was adopted in 1868. The testimony will get to the heart of the thorny legal issues the case raises — what constitutes an “insurrection” and how can the extreme political penalty of being barred from office be applied?
The plaintiff’s lawyers contend the provision is straightforward and that Trump is clearly disqualified from the presidency, just as if he were under the Constitution’s minimum age for the office of 35.
Trump’s lawyers argue that there remains a host of questions — did the authors even mean for the provision to apply to the presidency, which is not mentioned in the amendment although “presidential and vice presidential electors” are, along with senators and members of the House of Representatives? Did it target those who simply exercised free speech to support unpopular causes or only those who took up arms?
Scott Gessler, Trump’s lead Colorado attorney and a former Republican secretary of state there, dismissed the lawsuit as “anti-democratic” and noted that one other presidential candidate — socialist labor organizer Eugene Debs — even ran for the office from prison without people trying to use Section Three to disqualify him.
“If they don’t like President Trump, they need to get involved in an election,” Gessler said after the first day. “But what they’re trying to do is short-circuit an election.”
On Monday, the Colorado testimony began with details about the Jan. 6 assault that was intended to stop Congress from certifying President Joe Biden’s election win.
Lawyers representing six Republican and unaffiliated Colorado voters argued that Trump’s violent rhetoric preceding the attack makes him culpable, and barred from the presidency again under that clause prohibiting anyone who swore an oath to the constitution and then “engaged in insurrection” against it from holding office.
“We are here because Trump claims, after all that, that he has the right to be president again,” attorney Eric Olson said. “But our Constitution, the shared charter of our nation, says he cannot do so.”
Trump’s legal team and presidential campaign assailed the lawsuit as little more than an attempt by Democrats to derail his attempt to reclaim his old job. Trump is so far dominating the Republican presidential primary, and the lawsuits to block him were organized by two separate liberal groups.
Seeking to underscore that point, Trump’s campaign said before the hearing that it had filed a motion for District Court Judge Sarah B. Wallace to recuse herself because she had made a $100 donation in October 2022 to the Colorado Turnout Project, a group whose website says it was formed to “prevent violent insurrections” such as the Jan. 6 attack. Wallace declined to do so.
She was appointed to the bench in August of that year by Gov. Jared Polis, a Democrat. Wallace said she didn’t recall the donation until the motion was filed and has no preconceptions about the legal issues in the case.
“I will not allow this legal proceeding to turn into a circus,” she said.
veryGood! (77)
Related
- College football Week 12 expert picks for every Top 25 game include SEC showdowns
- Election officials warn that widespread problems with the US mail system could disrupt voting
- Investigators probe Indiana plane crash that killed pilot, 82
- Ex-Michigan players, including Braylon Edwards, Denard Robinson, suing NCAA, Big Ten Network
- Mattel says it ‘deeply’ regrets misprint on ‘Wicked’ dolls packaging that links to porn site
- USPS is ending discounts for shipping consolidators that tap into its vast delivery network
- Judge allows a man serving a 20-year prison sentence to remain on Alaska ballot
- Lindsay Lohan, Olivia Wilde, Suki Waterhouse and More Attend Michael Kors Show at 2024 NYFW
- Where you retire could affect your tax bill. Here's how.
- Dax Shepard Sets the Record Straight on Rumor He and Wife Kristen Bell Are Swingers
Ranking
- Special counsel Smith asks court to pause appeal seeking to revive Trump’s classified documents case
- In Nevada, Clean Energy Divides the Senate Race
- Fantasy football Start ‘Em, Sit ‘Em: 16 players to start or sit in Week 2
- Hoping to win $800M from the Mega Millions? Here's exactly how to purchase a ticket.
- Channing Tatum Drops Shirtless Selfie After Zoë Kravitz Breakup
- Former Vikings star Adrian Peterson ordered to turn over assets to pay massive debt
- Dolphins coaches, players react to ‘emotional’ and ‘triggering’ footage of Tyreek Hill traffic stop
- EPA says Vermont fails to comply with Clean Water Act through inadequate regulation of some farms
Recommendation
-
25 monkeys caught but more still missing after escape from research facility in SC
-
Fantasy football Start ‘Em, Sit ‘Em: 16 players to start or sit in Week 2
-
Airport Fire in California blamed on crews doing fire-prevention work: See wildfire map
-
Who is Mauricio Pochettino? What to know about the new USMNT head coach
-
Repair Hair Damage In Just 90 Seconds With This Hack from WNBA Star Kamilla Cardoso
-
Prosecutors charge Milwaukee man with shooting at officers
-
Flash flood sweeps away hamlet as Vietnam’s storm toll rises to 155 dead
-
When does 'Survivor' Season 47 start? Premiere date, cast, where to watch and stream