United States – The US Supreme Court intends to release at least one of the decisions on Monday, only one day before a presidential primary election in Colorado takes place and where a lower court concluded that Republican frontrunner Donald Trump was unable to join the ballot for participating in an insurrection event during the January 6, 2021, US Capitol attack.
Unconventional Sunday
In an atypical Sunday briefing as to their schedule, the Supreme Court has not indicated which decision it will be making. However, the justices heard appeals concerning the Colorado rulings on February 8 and will soon provide their own decision regarding the matter, as reported by Reuters.
Colorado is one of the fifteen states and US territories carrying out the primary elections on “Super Tuesday.” Trump is currently the GOP candidate with his eyes on the ball for the November 5 US elections.
Legal Battle
The Colorado Republican Party asked the Court to make its decision before this Tuesday’s ballot eligibility case, which involves the Court’s 6-3 conservative majority with three justices appointed by Trump.
In its argument, the Supreme Court indicated leaning toward Trump’s goal of a reversal of a Colorado Supreme Court December 19 ruling under the US Constitution’s 14th Amendment.
Capitol Attack and Trump’s Speech
According to the report by Associated Press, the 3rd section of the 14th Amendment prevents any “officials of the United States” from holding any public office if the individual swears to uphold the Constitution and then is involved in an armed rebellion or war against the US or to comfort to enemies of the country.
Due to a fiery Speech delivered by the Trump, asking supporters to go to Capitol and “fight like hell.” The supporters stormed the Congress amid clashing with police and, demonstratively, were disrupting the certification of Biden’s victory in the 2020 Presidential election. However, for hours after Trump also ignored pleas that he calls off the mob.
Anti-Trump forces have tried to remove him from being the Republican presidential candidate in more than two dozen other states, with mostly unsuccessful efforts, because of his actions following the January 6 attack. Maine and Illinois likewise banned Trump as a candidate, and their decisions are waiting for the Supreme Court verdict in Colorado.
The justices questioned conservatives and liberals from the Colorado case about the actions of states that may have influenced the outcome of a national election. This raised the question of how states will enforce the Section 3 disqualification language, which has left some people thinking about whether Congress has to pass legislation first that will make that possible.
On Wednesday, the Supreme Court agreed to decide the high-stakes case of Trump’s claim of immunity in order to change the result of 2020 election by beating Biden.
Turning Point for Trump’s Candidacy
The Court seems likely to reject Trump’s immunity argument, according to many legal cites, but the matter could be delayed months in another boost for his campaign to regain the presidency by further deferring a monumental criminal trial.
Trump’s lawyers had maintained that the President should be immune against prosecution for his attempt to overturn Biden’s victory simply because of his office status when he acted, and this idea was fervently resisted by the lower courts, as reported by Reuters.
On the other hand, the Supreme Court’s decision to postpone the hearing on the matter until late April weakens the probabilities of the trial that comprised Special Counsel Jack Smith’s election fraud charges finishing before the election.