- Written by Bernd Debsmann Jr.
- BBC News, Washington
The U.S. Supreme Court has struck down efforts by states to use the Insurrection Constitution Clause to disqualify Donald Trump from running for president.
The unanimous ruling is specific to Colorado, but also overrides challenges raised in other states.
Colorado had banned Trump from the 2021 Republican primary after accusing him of inciting the Capitol riot.
The court ruled that only Congress, not the states, had that power.
The Supreme Court's ruling clears the way for Trump to compete in the Colorado primary, scheduled for Tuesday.
Trump is the front-runner for the Republican nomination and is seen as likely to face Democratic President Joe Biden in the November general election.
On Monday, the former president immediately claimed victory after the verdict, claiming a “huge victory for America” on his Truth social media platform. This message was followed by a fundraising email sent to supporters of his campaign.
Speaking shortly afterward at his Mar-a-Lago, Florida, residence, he said the decision was “very well thought out” and “will go a long way toward the unity that our country needs.” Ta.
Trump added: “You can't take someone out of the race just because the other person wants you to.”
Colorado Secretary of State Jenna Griswold said she was disappointed in the ruling and said, “Colorado should be able to exclude oath-breaking insurrection from our votes.”
Additionally, the watchdog group Citizens for Responsibility and Ethics in Washington (Crew), which filed the lawsuit in Colorado, said in a statement that while the court “failed to meet that moment,” it “still “This is a victory. Trump will do that.” He will go down in history as a rebel. ”
Maine and Illinois followed Colorado's lead in excluding Trump from their ballots for similar reasons.
Efforts in both states were put on hold until his challenge to the Colorado ruling escalated to the Supreme Court.
“We conclude that the state may disqualify any person holding or seeking to hold public office in the state,” the court's opinion said. “However, states do not have constitutional authority to enforce Article III with respect to federal offices, especially the presidential office.”
Nine justices ruled that only Congress can enforce the provisions of the Fourteenth Amendment against federal employees and candidates.
Section 3 of the Civil War-era amendment prohibits federal, state, or military officials who have “engaged in insurrection or insurrection” against the United States from ever holding public office again.
Groups such as Free Speech For People had argued that attempts to delay the peaceful transfer of power on January 6, 2021, were consistent with the definition of insurrection outlined in the amendment.
Amy Coney Barrett, one of the court's justices, wrote separately that the fact that all nine justices agreed with the outcome of the case was “a message that Americans should take home.”
“During the volatile period of a presidential election, the court resolved the issue politically,” Judge Barrett wrote. “Especially in a situation like this, writing in court should lower the national temperature, not raise it.”
But the court's three liberal justices argued that the decision was “designed to decide new constitutional questions to isolate this court and the Court.” [Trump] By announcing that “insurrection disqualification can only occur if Congress enacts certain types of laws,” it distances itself from future controversy.
“In doing so, the majority would close the door to other potential enforcement avenues,” they added.
Atiba Ellis, a law professor at Case Western Reserve University in Ohio, told the BBC that the court's concerns about excluding Trump from the vote were “legitimate,” but that the decision “could have far-reaching implications.” There is,” he said.
“This opens the door to questions of constitutional interpretation that were not at issue in this case. This decision puts the question before Congress, where partisan gridlock guarantees inaction on this issue. ” Ellis added. “This decision effectively guarantees that the question of the constitutional suitability of former presidents under Article III will not be resolved before the 2024 election.”
Another legal scholar, Ray Brescia of Albany Law School, said the court's decision avoids a “patchwork of states with different processes.”
“If the courts allowed Colorado's process, what would it mean for unscrupulous prosecutors in other states to say that a candidate from another party is not a good candidate because of his involvement in the insurrection?” Can it be stopped?'' he said.
Republican voters in Colorado and 14 other states will vote on Tuesday in a marathon event known as Super Tuesday.
The former president is widely expected to sweep the board and defeat his only remaining opponent, former United Nations Ambassador Nikki Haley, on every battlefield.