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The Colorado Supreme Court ruled Tuesday that Donald Trump cannot appear on the states Republican presidential primary ballot next year because he is disqualified for engaging in an insurrection on Jan. 6, 2021, at the U.S. Capitol.

The stunning 4-3 decision is almost certain to be immediately appealed to the U.S. Supreme Court and is likely to have national ripple effects. Similar lawsuits seeking to block Trump from appearing on presidential primary ballots have been filed in other parts of the country, but no others have been successful.

The Colorado Supreme Court stayed its ruling until Jan. 4 to give the U.S. Supreme Court time to weigh in.

Colorados presidential primary ballot must be set by Jan. 5. Ballots start being mailed to military and overseas voters on Jan. 20. Election Day is March 5.

We do not reach these conclusions lightly, Justices Monica Mrquez, William Hood, Richard Gabriel and Melissa Hart wrote in the courts 132-page majority opinion. We are mindful of the magnitude and weight of the questions now before us. We are likewise mindful of our solemn duty to apply the law, without fear or favor, and without being swayed by public reaction to the decisions that the law mandates we reach.

Chief Justice Brian Boatright and Justices Maria Berkenkotter and Carlos Samour Jr. dissented.

All seven justices on the Colorado Supreme Court were appointed by Democratic governors.

In a written statement, Trump campaign spokesman Steven Cheung called the courts ruling completely flawed and vowed to appeal to the U.S. Supreme Court.

We have full confidence that the U.S. Supreme Court will quickly rule in our favor and finally put an end to these un-American lawsuits, Cheung said.

Electorally speaking, Colorado is unimportant in the 2024 presidential race. Trump lost to President Joe Biden in Colorado by 13 percentage points in 2020 and polls show he remains deeply unpopular in the state.

But the Colorado Supreme Courts ruling means that Trumps bid next year may hinge on Colorado. If the U.S. Supreme Court upholds the Colorado Supreme Court decision, Trump could be disqualified from appearing on the Republican presidential primary ballot in other states.

Citizens for Responsibility and Ethics in Washington, a liberal political nonprofit based in Washington, D.C., sued Colorado Secretary of State Jena Griswold in September on behalf of a group of Colorado Republican and unaffiliated voters, arguing that the former president shouldnt be allowed on the states presidential primary ballot because of his role in the Jan. 6 attack.

The nonprofit, which doesnt reveal its donors, claimed that Trump violated the so-called insurrection clause in the U.S. Constitution.

Section 3 of the 14th Amendment bars officers of the United States who took an oath to support the Constitution of the United States and then engaged in insurrection or rebellion against the same, or given aid or comfort to the enemies thereof from holding federal or state office again.

The lawsuit was first heard in Denver District Court, where Judge Sarah Wallace ruled Nov. 17 that while Trump incited an insurrection on Jan. 6, he can still appear on Colorados 2024 Republican presidential primary ballot because he is not an officer of the United States.

Part of the courts decision is its reluctance to embrace an interpretation which would disqualify a presidential candidate without a clear, unmistakable indication that such is the intent of Section 3, she wrote.

Citizens for Responsibility and Ethics in Washington appealed the ruling to the Colorado Supreme Court, arguing that a president is an officer of the United States. Trumps 2024 campaign also appealed, seeking to invalidate Wallaces finding that Trump incited an insurrection on the argument state courts dont have the power to rule on 14th Amendment challenges.

The Colorado Supreme Court heard arguments in the case on Dec. 6. The courts justices seemed to struggle with whether the 14th Amendment applies to former presidents.

Gabriel said it seemed absurd that drafters of the 14th Amendment wouldnt have meant it to apply to presidents. Justice Monica Mrquez said in her readings of the case law, she saw no rational reason for that type of an exclusion.

But Samour said it seemed odd that the presidents and vice presidents werent specifically called out in Section 3 of the 14th Amendment, the so-called insurrection clause.

If it was so important that the president be included, why not spell it out? he asked before packed chambers in downtown Denver, echoing the legal ambiguity on which the lower courts ruling hinged.

But the majority of the Colorado Supreme Court found Tuesday that Wallace was wrong and that the 14th Amendment does apply to former presidents.

President Trump asks us to hold that Section 3 disqualifies every oathbreaking insurrectionist except the most powerful one and that it bars oath-breakers from virtually every office, both state and federal, except the highest one in the land, the courts majority opinion said. Both results are inconsistent with the plain language and history of Section 3.

The majority also found that state courts do have jurisdiction in the case.

Were we to adopt President Trumps view, Colorado could not exclude from the ballot even candidates who plainly do not satisfy the age, residency and citizenship requirements of the Presidential Qualifications Clause, the majority wrote in its opinion. It would mean that the state would be powerless to exclude a 28-year-old, a nonresident of the United States, or even a foreign national from the presidential primary ballot in Colorado.

Finally, the majority ruled that Trump engaged in an insurrection on Jan. 6.

The record amply established that the events of Jan. 6 constituted a concerted and public use of force or threat of force by a group of people to hinder or prevent the U.S. government from taking the actions necessary to accomplish the peaceful transfer of power in this country, the courts majority wrote. Under any viable definition, this constituted an insurrection.

The majority also wrote that Trump did not merely incite the insurrection.

Even when the siege on the Capitol was fully underway, he continued to support it by repeatedly demanding that Vice President (Mike) Pence refuse to perform his constitutional duty and by calling senators to persuade them to stop the counting of electoral votes, the majority wrote. These actions constituted overt, voluntary and direct participation in the insurrection.

The Colorado Supreme Court ruling marks the first time that the insurrection clause has been used to block a presidential candidate from appearing on the ballot.

We of course know that the (U.S.) Supreme Court is the likely destination for this decision and were ready to present our arguments, Eric Olson, an attorney for Citizens for Responsibility and Ethics in Washington, told CNN on Tuesday night.

The plaintiffs in the Colorado case include Krista Kafer, a Republican activist and political commentator in Colorado; Norma Anderson, a Republican who was formerly the majority leader in the Colorado Senate; Michelle Priola, the wife of state Sen. Kevin Priola, who switched his party affiliation to Democratic from Republican in 2022; and Chris Castilian, former chief of staff for then-Gov. Bill Owens, a Republican.

Mario Nicolais, a Colorado Sun opinion columnist, is one of the lawyers representing the plaintiffs.

In a written statement, Anderson said the Colorado Supreme Courts ruling ensures that Republican presidential primary voters in the state are only casting ballots for eligible candidates.

Long before this lawsuit was filed, I had already read Section 3 of the 14th Amendment and concluded that it applied to Donald Trump, given his actions leading up to and on Jan. 6, she said. I am proud to be a petitioner, and gratified that the Colorado Supreme Court arrived at the same conclusion we all did.

Griswolds office took a neutral legal stance on the case. But after Wallaces ruling last month, the Democrat, in TV appearances, expressed shock at the outcome.

The idea that any official who would engage in insurrection would be barred from taking office except the presidency is incredibly surprising, she said on MSNBC last month. That basically means that the presidency is a get-out-of-jail free card for insurrection.

Griswold said in a written statement Tuesday that her office will follow court guidance in a nod to how the Colorado Supreme Courts decision is likely to be appealed.

In an 11-page dissent, Boatright, the chief justice of the state Supreme Court, wrote that Colorados election code was not enacted to decide whether a candidate engaged in insurrection. Instead, the state code lays out qualifications based on objective, discernible facts, such as a candidates age, time previously served as president and place of birth.

Those all pale in comparison with the complexity of an action to disqualify a candidate for engaging in insurrection, Boatright wrote .

Boatright said the Colorado law requires that any challenges to a candidates eligibility be heard at a breakneck pace, giving the defendant little time to prepare a defense and making the statute ill-suited for a claim of such gravity. This speed comes with consequences, namely, the absence of procedures that courts, litigants, and the public would expect for complex constitutional litigation, he wrote.

Samour, building off of Boatrights dissent, wrote in his 43-page dissent that he worries about due process given the speed of the case.

I recognize the need to defend and protect our democracy against those who seek to undermine the peaceful transfer of power, Samour wrote. And I embrace the judiciarys solemn role in upholding and applying the law. But that solemn role necessarily includes ensuring our courts afford everyone who comes before them (in criminal and civil proceedings alike) due process of law.

Berkenkotter, the newest member of the Colorado Supreme Court, wrote in a separate 25-page dissent that Colorados election code does not give authority to state courts to litigate presidential candidates eligibility beyond a candidate declaring they are a bonafide candidate, submitting a notarized statement of intent and paying $500 or submitting a write-in petition.

She said if the legislature wants state courts to have the power to adjudicate 14th Amendment challenges, it should do so by amending the election code. I just think it needs to say so, she wrote.

Other Republican presidential candidates seeking a spot on Colorados primary ballot include Florida Gov.Ron DeSantis, former U.N. Ambassador and South Carolina Gov.Nikki Haley, former New Jersey Gov.Chris Christie, former Arkansas Gov.Asa Hutchinsonand entrepreneurVivek Ramaswamy.

Dave Williams, a Trump ally and chair of the Colorado GOP, said the party would move to withdraw from the states presidential primary if Trump isnt allowed to appear on the ballot. He said the GOP would select delegates to the Republican National Convention through the states caucus process instead.

If the state refuses to let Republicans withdraw from the primary, we will ignore the primary results, Williams said.

Colorado Sun staff writer Brian Eason contributed to this report. Colorado Sun editors Lance Benzel and Dana Coffield also contributed to this report.

Colorado Supreme Court: See Anderson v. Griswold, Dec. 19, 2023. Source link.

Based on facts, either observed and verified directly by the reporter, or reported and verified from knowledgeable sources.

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Donald Trump blocked from appearing on presidential primary ballot by Colorado Supreme Court - The Colorado Sun

The political network founded by the billionaire industrialist brothers Charles and David Koch has endorsed Nikki Haley in the Republican presidential nominating contest, giving her organizational muscle and financial heft as she battles Gov. Ron DeSantis of Florida to be the top rival to former President Donald J. Trump.

The group announced its plans in a memo on Tuesday.

The commitment by the network, Americans for Prosperity Action, bolsters Ms. Haley as the campaign enters the final seven weeks before the Iowa caucuses. Since the first Republican primary debate, Ms. Haley has steadily climbed in polls, even as Mr. DeSantis has slipped. Mr. Trump remains the dominant front-runner in the race.

In sharp contrast to recent elections that were dominated by the negative baggage of Donald Trump and in which good candidates lost races that should have been won, Nikki Haley, at the top of the ticket, would boost candidates up and down the ballot, reads the memo from Emily Seidel, a senior adviser to Americans for Prosperity Action, who adds that Ms. Haley would win the key independent and moderate voters that Trump has no chance to win.

The memo goes on to say that the country is being ripped apart by extremes on both sides, adding: The moment we face requires a tested leader with the governing judgment and policy experience to pull our nation back from the brink. Nikki Haley is that leader.

The group laid out polling describing the shift in the race toward Ms. Haley in a separate memo. On a separate call with reporters, the senior adviser who presented the polling, Michael Palmer, said that Mr. DeSantiss support over the course of the year had dropped precipitously.

Ms. Haley, who has described Mr. Trumps time as past, has gained support from donors and elite opinion-makers, many of whom describe her as the best alternative to Mr. Trump.

But Ms. Haleys campaign does not have the organizational strength that Mr. DeSantis does, thanks to work the super PAC affiliated with his campaign has been doing for much of the year.

The endorsement from the super PAC established by the Koch brothers could help change that. It will give her access to a direct-mail operation, field workers to knock on doors and people making phone calls to prospective voters in Iowa and beyond. The group has money to spend on television advertisements, as well.

Im honored to have the support of Americans for Prosperity Action, including its millions of grass-roots members all across the country, Ms. Haley said in a statement. A.F.P. Actions members know that there is too much at stake in this election to sit on the sidelines.

The Koch networks backing helps fuel Ms. Haleys momentum heading into the final weeks before voting begins. And its a blow to Mr. DeSantis as he tries to maintain to donors that he is the only person who can beat Mr. Trump if the contest eventually whittles down to the former president and one other contestant.

Americans for Prosperity Action has been among the countrys largest spenders on anti-Trump material this year, buying online ads and sending mailers to voters in several states, including Iowa, New Hampshire and South Carolina. All told, the group has spent more than $9 million in independent expenditures opposing Mr. Trump.

One mailer in Iowa, paid for by the group, shows images of Mr. Trump and President Biden and reads, You can stop Biden by letting go of Trump.

But so far, none of that spending has benefited any of Mr. Trumps rivals, who have been busy battling one another.

The Koch network is well financed, raising more than $70 million for political races as of this summer. On a press call about the endorsement, officials declined to say how much money they would budget toward helping Ms. Haley.

The group has been committed to opposing Mr. Trumps return as leader of the Republican Party. In a memo in February, Ms. Seidel, who also serves as the president of Americans for Prosperity, the political networks parent group, wrote: We need to turn the page on the past. So the best thing for the country would be to have a president in 2025 who represents a new chapter.

Steven Cheung, a spokesman for Mr. Trumps campaign, said in a statement, Americans for Prosperity the political arm of the China First, America Last movement has chosen to endorse a pro-China, open borders, and globalist candidate in Nikki Birdbrain Haley, adding that no amount of shady money would stop Mr. Trump from winning the Republican nomination and the election.

Over the past few years, the Koch network has spent tens of millions of dollars opposing the foreign policy views that Ms. Haley has espoused. She has been among the most hawkish in the Republican presidential field on aid to Ukraine in its fight against the Russian invasion, while the Koch-backed group Concerned Veterans for America has opposed American involvement in that conflict.

Ms. Haley has also criticized the U.S. withdrawal from Afghanistan, a policy change that the Koch network campaigned aggressively to bring about. And she has advocated military strikes in Iran, while the Koch foreign policy operation has opposed military action against the country.

Mr. DeSantiss campaign has had upheaval in recent days, including the resignation of the chief executive of his super PAC. Mr. DeSantis, who has polled solidly in second place behind Mr. Trump since he entered the race this year, has seen his standing drop in surveys. He has struggled to connect with voters, and efforts to lift him including a recent endorsement by Iowas governor, Kim Reynolds have yielded little return in polling.

His team tried to throw cold water on the endorsement before it was even announced.

Every dollar spent on Nikki Haleys candidacy should be reported as an in-kind to the Trump campaign, Andrew Romeo, a DeSantis campaign spokesman, wrote on X, formerly known as Twitter, 30 minutes before the press call.

No one has a stronger record of beating the establishment than Ron DeSantis, and this time will be no different, he wrote.

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Koch Network Endorses Nikki Haley in Bid to Push G.O.P. Past Trump - The New York Times

Donald Trump's brain might need a sharp shot of covfefe (or something like it), according to The View cohost and former White House staffer Alyssa Farah Griffin.

The 34-year-old Republican cohost criticized her ex-boss' cognition on Tuesday's episode of the long-running talk show, after moderator Whoopi Goldberg pointed out that Trump is a "couple of steps slower on the campaign trail" amid several "mental lapses" including his claim that "Obama is Biden's boss" and mistakenly referring to Sioux City as "Sioux Falls" despite being within the Iowa city's limits at the time.

Sunny Hostin immediately threw the Hot Topics discussion to Griffin, calling her "the expert" on Trump's behavior after she worked for the former president's communications team throughout 2020.

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"He is not as sharp as he was in 2016, and many of us would argue that he wasn't that sharp then. You see a real decline in him. It's a fact you can't get past," Griffin said. "Our country is so polarized that Trump supporters see that and they don't think a thing about it. It doesn't really affect them. [They say] 'he's my tough guy, he's my fighter,' but they see any gaffe of Joe Biden's, and Joe Biden is 'aging' and he's 'too old.' It's a Rorschach test of where the country is."

Griffin also noted that Trump, 77, and Biden, who turned 81 on Nov. 20, are only about three years apart in age, though Hostin observed that "one rides a bike and one eats cheeseburgers" into their older years. Hostin also called Trump's incessant invocations of Barack Obama as a "dog whistle" or rallying cry for racists among his voting base.

EW has reached out to Trump's office for comment.

After resigning from Trump's communications team in 2020, Griffin has long spoken out against him, including calling him "reckless and unpredictable" at an Oct. 30 speaking event in New York City. She was even interviewed earlier in 2023 by federal prosecutors in a probe into the Jan. 6, 2021, insurrection.

Secretary of State and Trump's main opponent in the 2016 election, Hillary Clinton, also appeared on The View in early November to caution the country against voting for Trump in 2024, predicting that a second-term Trump presidency would be "the end of our country."

The Viewairs weekdays at 11 a.m. ET onABC.

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'The View' star criticizes former boss Donald Trump's mental decline - Entertainment Weekly News

Donald J. Trump hasnt won a single primary or caucus vote yet, let alone the Republican nomination, but his lead in the polls has left much of the political world viewing his nomination as all but inevitable.

It has also inspired a fair amount of speculation about who might wind up on a 2024 ticket beside him. It will almost surely not be former Vice President Mike Pence, who crossed Trump by certifying the 2020 election results.

While Trump has not begun formal veepstakes talks, he has casually weighed the pros and cons of some contenders with friends and advisers.

His team has discussed possible parameters, like whether a woman on the ticket would help win back suburban women who abandoned him in the last election, or if choosing a person of color would be a smart choice, given the gains he saw in 2020 with Black and Hispanic men.

Either way, Mar-a-Lago courtiers generally agree that any rsum for the No. 2 spot on the ticket must include some Trump-specific requirements that defy demographics: absolute loyalty to the Trump brand, a willingness to filter every decision and public comment through a subservient lens, and the know-it-when-you-see-it central casting look the former president prizes.

Heres a look at some possible contenders.

Household names in national politics, these are some of the figures most often floated as possible running mates.

A senator from South Carolina, Scott ran for president but dropped out in November.

Al Drago/EPA, via Shutterstock

Haley, a former United Nations ambassador under Trump and a former governor of South Carolina, is running for president against him.

Samuel Corum for The New York Times

A staunch and provocative conservative, the Arkansas senator has been seen as one of the Republican Partys rising figures.

Doug Mills/The New York Times

The Florida senator, a rival to Trump in 2016, has hummed along as a reliable Trump ally and leading Republican voice on foreign policy issues.

Scott McIntyre for The New York Times

Pompeo, a former congressman from Kansas, was a fixture in the Trump administration, first as C.I.A. director and then as secretary of state.

Al Drago for The New York Times

For any potential Trump sidekick, a track record of accomplishments is nice to have. A track record of fealty may be even more important.

The best-selling author and former venture capitalist is now a senator from Ohio, thanks largely to a Trump endorsement.

Maddie McGarvey for The New York Times

Trumps former White House press secretary, she parlayed the exposure that gave her into the Arkansas governors office.

Doug Mills/The New York Times

A popular governor and a former congresswoman, Noem has welcomed speculation that she could be invited to join the ticket.

Jamie Kelter Davis for The New York Times

A former House member from Texas who served as the director of national intelligence in Trumps administration.

Doug Mills/The New York Times

Lake, a prominent election denier, narrowly lost the 2022 Arizona governors race.

Rebecca Noble for The New York Times

A wealthy entrepreneur, Ramaswamy has built his campaign around his devotion to Trump, and many Republican voters have responded warmly.

Kenny Holston/The New York Times

Lesser known on the national stage, these politicians could provide the ticket with a fresh face.

A second-term congressman who has made a name for himself in Washington as an avatar for the next generation of pro-Trump Republicans.

Erin Schaff/The New York Times

Stefanik, a five-term congresswoman, has morphed from a Bush administration staff member into one of the partys most prominent Trump supporters.

Hans Pennink/Associated Press

Dixon, a conservative media personality, lost the 2022 governors race in Michigan to Gov. Gretchen Whitmer, a Democrat.

Brittany Greeson for The New York Times

A House member from South Carolina who was the first female military recruit to graduate from the Citadel.

Kenny Holston/The New York Times

A freshman in the House and a retired Army Apache helicopter pilot, he has become one of the partys rising stars.

Suzanne Cordeiro/Agence France-Presse Getty Images

Theyre long shots, yes. But Donald Trump is far from a predictable politician.

The former Fox News anchor is widely viewed as one of the ideological godfathers of Trumpian Republicanism.

Saul Martinez for The New York Times

A senator and former Florida governor, Scott has an untarnished electoral record after three statewide campaigns in one of the nation's biggest political battlegrounds.

Al Drago/The New York Times

A far-right conspiracy theorist, Greene is one of Trumps top surrogates on the campaign trail.

Doug Mills/The New York Times

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Who Would Donald Trump Choose as His Running Mate? - The New York Times

In a Veterans Day speech, Donald Trump didnt limit his comments to honoring those who, unlike his draft-dodging self, served this nation to protect its democracy. Instead he went full-on fascist as he vowed to root out those he assailed as the radical left thugs that live like vermin within the confines of our country.

A week later, after it was announced that Rosalynn Carter, the former first lady, had entered hospice care, Trump took a swipe at President Biden during a rally by mocking former president Jimmy Carters White House tenure.

And Trump kept gobbling on Thanksgiving as he reveled in a pause in his New York civil fraud trial gag order while others reveled in the coziness of family, friends, and food. In a post on his failing social media site, Trump wished a Happy Thanksgiving to ALL, including New York Attorney General Letitia James, who he called racist, Judge Arthur Engoron, whom he branded as a psycho, and Engorons corrupt law clerk.

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Every breath Trump takes comes with a barrage of insults against his expanding list of perceived enemies, threats against democracy, and continued lies about a presidential election he soundly lost to Biden more than three years ago. Its a greatest hits medley for his most ardent followers, but its also the empty flex of a petrified 77-year-old man in more trouble than he ever could have imagined.

Its the season of Its a Wonderful Life, the beloved film starring Jimmy Stewart as George Bailey, a kind but disconsolate man considering suicide on Christmas Eve until Clarence, an angel, intervenes and ushers George through a dark reimagining of what the world would have been like without him. He then discovers how he has enriched the lives of those he touched.

In his increasingly un-wonderful life, Trump has spent his years enriching only himself and has toiled to remake the world in his own misbegotten image. Now hes facing the possibility that he could end up like the original Teflon Don, another ruthlessly ambitious, attention-addicted son of New Yorks outer boroughs mob boss John Gotti. After years of trials and acquittals, Gotti was finally convicted in 1992 on various charges, including murder, and sentenced to life. He died in prison in 2002.

What ultimately got Gotti was his longtime partner in crime, Sammy The Bull Gravano, who ratted him out. And as much as Trump loves to talk about numbers when they favor him, such as polls showing his sizable lead over fellow Republican presidential candidates, the figure on his mind these days is probably four as in the four coconspirators in the Georgia election interference case whove cut plea deals with prosecutors in exchange for testimony during the upcoming trial, including against the former president.

Conspiring with Trump is one thing; risking your freedom by continuing to promulgate his lies is quite another. And notice that he didnt trash them as he is James, Engoron, and Jack Smith, the special counsel prosecuting Trumps trials for mishandling classified documents and federal election interference. He recognizes that those whove flipped on him can do serious damage to him.

You can see the impossible weight of it all in the hunch of Trumps shoulders as he lumbers to the stage at his rallies. His perpetual scowl, even when he bears his teeth into something approximating a smile, personifies the motherly warning that echoed through many childhoods: If you keep making that face, its gonna stay that way.

When Trumps supporters talk about the 91 felony charges hes facing from four indictments in four jurisdictions as if theyre just water bouncing off a ducks back, its hollow boosterism. They want to portray Trump as a strongman whose might makes him immune to morality, laws, and the Constitution.

What they refuse to see is a man diminished. Trump is being stalked by something he has dodged for decades accountability. Now he has to deal with Tuesdays surprising news that the political network founded by Charles and David Koch, the ultra right-wing and diabolically powerful billionaires, has endorsed Nikki Haley for the Republican presidential nomination. Its a clear attempt to prod the party beyond Trump who, at least to the Kochs, has outlived his usefulness.

With the Iowa caucuses less than two months away, its another unexpected jolt for the former president whose cult of personality might not be as durable as it once was. Despite his public bravado, hes old, miserable, and desperate. But as the world witnessed at the US Capitol on Jan. 6, 2021, a desperate Trump is also a man unbound and at his most dangerous.

Rene Graham is a Globe columnist. She can be reached at renee.graham@globe.com. Follow her @reneeygraham.

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Donald Trump and his un-wonderful life - The Boston Globe