Colorado court removes Trump from vote

This is a decision that could have huge consequences for next year’s elections: According to the Supreme Court of the US state of Colorado, former US President Donald Trump is unfit to serve as president. According to the court’s historic decision, the Republican disqualified himself from the presidency for his conduct regarding the raid on the US Capitol on January 6, 2021.

This means his name should not appear on ballots in his party’s 2024 presidential election primaries. But this landmark decision is unlikely to be the final word in the case.

A spokesman for Trump said he would immediately appeal the decision and called it “deeply undemocratic.” 77-year-old Trump wants to move to the White House again on behalf of the Republicans. He is clearly ahead in internal party polls; Primaries for the nomination will begin in a few weeks. Everything so far points to a new edition of the campaign between Trump and incumbent President Joe Biden. It can now be assumed that the question of fitness for the office of the President will eventually have to be clarified by the country’s highest court. If the Supreme Court accepts the case, the conduct of the election will be in the hands of nine justices in Washington.

The background to the decision, made on Tuesday evening (local time), is that various plaintiffs in various US states are trying to remove Trump’s name from the ballots for the presidential election. His opponents are advocating a constitutional amendment that excludes from elections people who incite a “revolt” against the constitution.

The so-called insurrection ban in the 14th Amendment states that no person who has previously participated as a public official in an insurrection against the state may hold higher office in the state. Although some examples of such higher positions are given in the passage, the office of the presidency is not explicitly mentioned. The Colorado Supreme Court has now considered, among other issues, the question of whether the clause applies to the office of the president and concluded that it does.

However, the court postponed its decision until shortly before ballots were printed in early January or until a possible clarification by the Supreme Court. Unless the U.S. Supreme Court rules against Trump beforehand, his name will likely appear on the ballot in Colorado.

Trump has not yet been criminally convicted for his role in the attack on the Capitol, although he faces criminal charges in Washington. His supporters stormed the parliament building in Washington on January 6, 2021. Congress met there to formally certify Democrat Joe Biden’s victory in the presidential election. Trump had previously provoked his supporters in a speech. Trump argues that his words at that time fell within the scope of freedom of expression. The Colorado court looked at things completely differently. 5 people lost their lives as a result of the riots.

In states like Michigan and Minnesota, plaintiffs have already failed in their actions against Trump, but appeals are ongoing. In Colorado, Republicans also initially managed to record a victory in a lower court. The judge had ruled, unlike the state Supreme Court, that the 14th Amendment’s prohibition on insurrection did not explicitly refer to the office of the presidency due to unclear legal text. From there, he concluded that Trump should be allowed to remain on the ballot in the Republican primary in Colorado.

But this judge also ruled that Trump incited insurrection against the Constitution. “The Court finds that Trump acted with the specific intent to incite and direct political violence against the Capitol in order to disrupt the certification of the election results,” he wrote.

The Colorado Supreme Court agreed with the judge’s assessment. All seven judges there were nominated by Democrats. The decision, which was narrowly passed by a vote of four to three, states that after examining the facts, it was concluded that Trump intended to incite violence and riots in order to prevent the peaceful transfer of power with his speech on January 6.

The court was also aware of the importance of the decision and did not reach conclusions lightly. He was also aware of his duty to implement the law without being affected by public reaction to the decision. The state’s chief election supervisor said he would comply with the court’s decision.

It is not yet clear whether the US Supreme Court will accept the case. However, this is considered likely because an issue of constitutional importance needs to be clarified. Trump has shifted the field’s majority significantly to the right, or six out of nine seats, during his tenure. However, the Supreme Court did not always rule in his favor – for example, on the issue of disclosure of tax documents.

The current situation in the United States is now being compared to the historic negotiations over the outcome of the 2000 presidential election. The question at the time was whether the votes in the crucial state of Florida should be recounted. The Supreme Court declared the election over, causing Republican George W. Bush to become president and Democrat Al Gore to lose.

(APA/dpa)

Source: Vienna

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