Colorado Secretary of State Talks Trump Ballot Access – Colorado’s Democratic Secretary of State Jena Griswold has been on record saying she believes the Jan. 6, 2021, Capitol riot was an insurrection. A judge appointed by the state’s Democratic Gov. Jared Polis ruled that six Colorado voters had standing to challenge Donald Trump’s ballot eligibility under Section 3 of the 14th Amendment that bars those who have aided and abetted an insurrection from appearing on the ballot.
It marked the first case in which a state court found that the plaintiffs suing to block Trump’s ballot access was granted paving the way for a trial. A Trump motion seeking to remove the case to federal court was denied, paving the way for a state court to decide a federal matter, namely, whether the Capitol riot was an “insurrection” and; if Trump is eligible to appear on the ballot.
Under federal statute, only the president is competent to make that decision under the Insurrection Act of 1807.
Griswold Accuses Trump of ‘Stealing’ 2024 Election
“This is a novel situation, and the petitioners who filed this lawsuit are six Colorado voters — Republicans and unaffiliated voters — who challenge that Donald Trump is disqualified under the U.S. Constitution,” Griswold said in an interview with MSNBC. “Section three of the 14th Amendment says that any person who swears to uphold the Constitution and then engages in rebellion or insurrection, or provides aid or comfort to the enemies of the Constitution, cannot take office. So that’s what the case is about.”
She continued, “This is a bench trial, meaning it’s just a judge. There is no jury. It’s a civil case, so that also means that the standard of evidence is lower than in a criminal proceeding.”
Donald Trump Kicked Off the Ballot?
Should they succeed in the trial court, which is a distinct possibility considering that Judge Sarah B. Wallace stated in her ruling, “’…, the United States Supreme Court has made it clear that a Party’s right to put a candidate on the ballot is not unfettered,’ Here, Colorado’s ‘legitimate interest in protecting the integrity and practical functioning of the political process permits it to exclude from the ballot candidates who are constitutionally prohibited from assuming office.’”
This raises the distinct possibility that Wallace has in her mind that Trump committed that sort of constitutional violation when her ruling is compared with others around the country that have passed on the question without comment.
Griswold accused Trump of being a liar and of trying to “steal” the presidency by running again.
“I can’t get into too many specifics about how the case will play out, just given some of the orders around the case. But Trump’s counsel will be there representing him. So will the Colorado GOP. And I think one of the big takeaways of this case is it’s a novel situation because we’ve never had a president try to steal the presidency,” Griswold said. “Donald Trump has tried to get this case kicked out three times. They have failed to do that three times. But we assume that the case will move quickly, and all I can say is, by all appearances, it looks like the court is taking the timeline very seriously,” Griswold said.
Wallace has pledged to rule before Thanksgiving.
Could the US Supreme Court Decide Case?
However, comments such as Griswold’s will no doubt be used by Trump’s attorneys to claim the system is rigged against their clients in violation of the 14th Amendment’s guarantee of equal protection under the law on appeal.
She noted that the U.S. Supreme Court could end up weighing in, which assuredly is what the Democrats and Never Trump Republicans want to do. The Supreme Court already denied an appeal earlier this month. Trump’s opponents will no doubt continue to push forward.
John Rossomando is a defense and counterterrorism analyst and served as Senior Analyst for Counterterrorism at The Investigative Project on Terrorism for eight years. His work has been featured in numerous publications such as The American Thinker, The National Interest, National Review Online, Daily Wire, Red Alert Politics, CNSNews.com, The Daily Caller, Human Events, Newsmax, The American Spectator, TownHall.com, and Crisis Magazine. He also served as senior managing editor of The Bulletin, a 100,000-circulation daily newspaper in Philadelphia, and received the Pennsylvania Associated Press Managing Editors first-place award for his reporting.
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