The United States Supreme Court hears arguments today to decide whether former President Donald Trump can be kept off the ballot in Colorado as a result of his alleged role in the January 6 Capitol attack — an attempt to subvert the result of the 2020 presidential election won by Joe Biden. The case hinges on post-Civil War legislation — Section 3 of the 14th Amendment — which prohibits insurrectionists from becoming office holders in the U.S. government.
After Colorado determined that Trump’s “insurrection” participation rendered him ineligible to hold office again, Trump’s appeal ended up at SCOTUS. (No presidential candidate has ever been denied by Section 3, though the law has been used to disqualify at least eight candidates for other offices since its inception.)
Donald Trump knows what his own
— Liz Cheney (@Liz_Cheney) February 8, 2024
WH staff, DOJ appointees, campaign officials, etc told the 1/6 grand jury. Trump is trying to delay the trial to prevent those witnesses from testifying in open court. Americans have a right to hear from those witnesses now.
Former Vice Chair of the House Select Committee on the January 6 Capitol Attack, Rep. Liz Cheney (R-WY), wrote today: “Donald Trump knows what his own WH staff, DOJ appointees, campaign officials, etc told the 1/6 grand jury. Trump is trying to delay the trial to prevent those witnesses from testifying in open court.”
Cheney added, “Americans have a right to hear from those witnesses now.”
Rick Wilson, co-founder of the anti-Trump Lincoln Project, amplified Cheney’s post and wrote: “Today is going to be insane.”
[RELATED: Trump’s Supreme Court Problems Boil Down To 4 Words, Yale Lawyer Says]
Elie Mystal, a Harvard Law alum and self-declared liberal who writes about the courts for The Nation, was on CNN yesterday, where he spoke about the “big test of conservative logic vs conservative cult leadership.” He predicts, “The cult will win, of course.”
Here’s the clip if you missed it https://t.co/AZqQfVBzqP
— Elie Mystal (@ElieNYC) February 8, 2024
Mystal added: “We will see the level of intellectual gymnastics from the conservatives that, I swear, Simone Biles will copy in Paris this summer. That’s how much twisting and turning they’re going to have to do to keep Trump on the ballot.”
Mystal references the five conservative Justices on the Court — Clarence Thomas, John Roberts, Neil Gorsuch, Brett Kavanaugh and Amy Coney Barrett — the latter three having been appointed by Trump.
Thomas, whose wife Ginni Thomas, worked openly with groups trying to challenge the election results, was subject to calls from progressives to recuse himself from the case, but did not.
