U.S. Supreme Court justices raised concerns about letting state courts make a decision that could have national consequences. Justice Amy Coney Barrett put it plainly: “It just doesn’t seem like a state call.”
By Jesse Paul | Colorado Sun
U.S. Supreme Court justices on Thursday aggressively challenged whether states can disqualify a presidential candidate from running for office under the so-called insurrection clause in the Constitution as they heard arguments in the Colorado case seeking to disqualify Donald Trump from running for reelection.
A lawyer from Trump’s reelection campaign said the question is decisively “no” because the clause, in Section 3 of the 14th Amendment, is ultimately evaluated by Congress — and only after a candidate has been elected.
“Even if the candidate is an admitted insurrectionist, Section 3 still allows the candidate to run for office and even win election to office and then see whether Congress lifts that disability after the election,” Jonathan Mitchell, a lawyer representing Trump, told the court. The “disability,” meaning the finding that Trump engaged in an insurrection, could be overturned by a two-thirds vote.