On Thursday, the majority of the nine justices of the US Supreme Court expressed skepticism about excluding Donald Trump from running for president again. During the two-hour hearing, both conservative and liberal justices expressed concerns that individual states could decide which candidates run for president in November.
The hearing before the Supreme Court in Washington discussed whether Trump is unelectable in the US state of Colorado because of his role in the storming of the Capitol on January 6, 2021 – or whether his name can appear on the ballot in the primary election there.
The Colorado Supreme Court ruled in December that Trump should not be allowed to vote in the state’s Republican presidential nomination because of his role in the storming of the Capitol. This was justified by the 14th Amendment to the US Constitution. Trump’s lawyers therefore appealed to the Supreme Court.
Jonathan Mitchell, former deputy attorney general of the state of Texas and Trump’s representative, opened the 80-minute hearing in the Supreme Court on Thursday. He emphasized that only the US Congress can disqualify a candidate. The Colorado Supreme Court’s decision was “wrong and should be overturned.” It “takes away the votes of potentially tens of millions of Americans.”
Jason Murry, attorney for the Colorado voters who brought the case to court, called for Trump’s expulsion, citing Section 3 of the 14th Amendment. According to this, no person may hold public office if he has taken part in an “insurrection or insurrection” against the Constitution after taking an oath to defend it.
Trump told reporters in Florida that he had followed the hearing and hoped for a decision in his favor.
It is controversial among lawyers to what extent the 14th Amendment, which was passed between the northern and southern states after the American Civil War, can be used.
Conservative court President John Roberts warned of “troubling consequences” if the Colorado ruling is upheld. Then there could also be “disqualification procedures on the other side”. “I expect a good number of states will say, ‘Whoever the Democratic nominee is, you’re off the ballot.'” It will come down to “a handful of states deciding the presidential election.”
Liberal Justice Elena Kagan and other justices also seemed skeptical. “The question is why a single state should decide who becomes president of the United States,” Kagan said to Murry.
Conservative Justice Brett Kavanaugh said the Colorado plaintiffs’ stance “results in some degree of voter disenfranchisement.” Murry responded that he was before the Supreme Court because Trump had tried to “disenfranchise 80 million Americans who voted against him.”
The U.S. Supreme Court typically tries to stay out of political issues. This voting rights case catapulted him into the center of the presidential election. Observers assume that the judges want to avoid any impression of election interference.
It is the most consequential case since the court prohibited a recount of votes in the state of Florida in the 2000 presidential election between George W. Bush and Al Gore, thereby ensuring Bush’s victory.
The Supreme Court is expected to make its decision before March 5 – Super Tuesday, when Colorado and more than a dozen other states hold primary elections.
The Supreme Court in Washington has a majority of conservative judges, three of whom were nominated by Trump during his term in office.
On January 6, 2021, radical supporters of Trump broke into the Capitol in Washington to prevent the formal confirmation of Joe Biden’s election victory over Trump. Trump had previously fired up his supporters in an angry speech.
After the attack, the House of Representatives initiated impeachment proceedings against Trump for “incitement of insurrection.” However, he was acquitted by the Senate.
