Can the Supreme Court ban Trump from running in 2024?
The US Supreme Court is set to decide whether former president Donald Trump can be barred from the 2024 presidential ballot due to his role in the January 6, 2021 insurrection at the Capitol, when a mob of his supporters stormed the building and disrupted the certification of Joe Biden’s victory. The issue arises from a decision by Colorado, which removed Trump from the Republican primary ballot citing the disqualification clause of the 14th amendment of the US Constitution, a provision enacted after the Civil War to prevent former Confederates from holding public office. The clause prohibits anyone who has “engaged in insurrection or rebellion” against the US or given “aid or comfort” to its enemies from holding federal or state office, unless Congress removes the disability by a two-thirds vote of each house. Trump’s appeal against Colorado’s decision is one of several lawsuits invoking the disqualification clause in different states, and the Supreme Court agreed to hear his case on February 8, 2024, just weeks before the Super Tuesday primaries.
The 14th amendment, adopted in 1868 after the Civil War, prohibits certain people who have “engaged in insurrection” against the US from holding public office. This provision, known as the Disqualification Clause, was originally intended to prevent former Confederates from returning to power after the war, but has been rarely invoked since then. The Supreme Court agreed to hear Trump’s appeal against Colorado’s decision, which was based on his role in inciting the violent mob that stormed the Capitol on January 6, 2021, in an attempt to overturn the election results. The Supreme Court scheduled a hearing for February 8, 2024, which would allow it to deliver a verdict before the Super Tuesday on March 5, where the most delegates are at stake for the presidential primaries of both parties. The outcome of the case could have a major impact on Trump’s political future and the fate of the Republican Party.
Former federal prosecutor Harry Litman, featured in the video, believes that the Supreme Court could reject Trump’s appeal based on historical precedent and the severity of the facts. Litman, who is a senior legal affairs columnist at the Los Angeles Times and the host of the Talking Feds podcast, argues that the 14th amendment’s disqualification clause was clearly intended to apply to people like Trump, who incited a violent insurrection against the US government. Litman also thinks that the Supreme Court might want to avoid getting involved in the 2024 presidential campaign and leave the choice to the voters, as it did in 2016 when it declined to intervene in a challenge to Trump’s eligibility. He finally stresses that the Supreme Court’s decision will have significant implications for the future of American democracy and the rule of law, as it will either uphold or undermine the constitutional principle that no one is above the law.
