Donald Trump appears with Tim Scott at a 2024 campaign event in January.Photo:Al Drago/Bloomberg via Getty
Al Drago/Bloomberg via Getty
Supreme Court justices offered a window into their thinking Thursday as they considerDonald Trump’s eligibility for the2024 presidential race. The unprecedented case is being expeditedafter Colorado barred himfrom its Republican primary ballot, citing the Constitution’s “insurrection clause.”
The question of whether Trump can hold office again hinges around how the Supreme Court chooses to interpret a two-sentence section of the 14th Amendment, which states that if an “officer of the United States” has engaged in an insurrection, they are ineligible to hold office.
Every word in the insurrection clause is being dissected as Trump’s legal team argues that he is not an “officer” of the United States, his actions cannot be characterized as an “insurrection,” and that states are not allowed to enforce Section 3 of the 14th Amendment without authorization from Congress.
14th Amendment, Section 3
During Thursday’s oral arguments, JusticeSonia Sotomayorexpressed skepticism toward Trump’s logic that the U.S. president does not count as an officer of the United States. “Bit of a gerrymandered rule, isn’t it?” she asked Trump’s lawyer, Jonathan Mitchell. “Designed to benefit only your client?”
Sotomayor emphasized that under that line of thinking, Trump — who held no public office before president — would be exempt from the insurrection clause, but most presidents would not be, since they had previously sworn an oath as members of Congress.
The current Supreme Court, from left to right: Sonia Sotomayor, Amy Coney Barrett, Clarence Thomas, Neil Gorsuch, John Roberts, Brett Kavanaugh, Samuel Alito, Ketanji Brown Jackson, Elena Kagan.OLIVIER DOULIERY/AFP via Getty
Some justices pushed back on that point a little bit, saying that the insurrection argument is vaguely defined and could be abused, to which Murray urged the court to write an opinion that emphasizes the high threshold for something to be considered “insurrection.”
Chief JusticeJohn Roberts, a frequent swing voter on the court, told Murray that the 14th Amendment aimed to limit states' power, not increase it. “That seems to be a position that is at war with the whole thrust of the 14th Amendment and very ahistorical,” he said. JusticeElena Kagan, a liberal, also expressed some uncertainty about whether states' varying interpretations of the law should be allowed to sway a national election.
JusticeBrett Kavanaughasked Murray to explain why Trump should be considered an insurrectionist if he has not been convicted of insurrection, arguing that the most concrete way to assign that label is through federal prosecution. Murray argued that in Civil War times, insurrectionists were not always held criminally liable but were undeniably fighting against the Union.
On the whole, the justices' pointed questions during two hours of arguments on Thursday forewarned of a final opinion in Trump’s favor.
U.S. representatives are evacuated from the House chamber in gas masks as Donald Trump’s supporters breach the Capitol on Jan. 6, 2021.Tom Williams/CQ-Roll Call, Inc via Getty Images
Roughly one week after the Colorado court’s ruling, Maine also disqualified Trump from appearing on its presidential primary ballot. Maine Secretary of State Shenna Bellows, a Democrat, issued that ruling, similarly citing the 14th Amendment.
“The U.S. Constitution does not tolerate an assault on the foundations of our government,” Bellows wrote in the 34-page decision, which was suspended until the Supreme Court rules on the matter.
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Cases challenging Trump’s candidacy have been filed in numerous states, to mixed results. The Michigan Supreme Courtdeclined to reconsidera Court of Appeals decision that allowed Trump to remain on the primary ballot, and California’s Democratic secretary of state also declined efforts to remove Trump from its ballot.
The Supreme Court’s ruling on the issue will set a precedent for states to follow.
Rioters storm the U.S. Capitol on Jan. 6, 2021, in an attempt to stop Congress from declaring Joe Biden the president-elect.Samuel Corum/Getty
While Trump has not yet gone to trial on those charges, a House select committee investigating the Capitol riot previously concluded that Trump was responsible for the events of Jan. 6.
source: people.com
