STILL IN THE RACE
Donald Trump scores huge legal victory after Supreme Court rejects bid to kick him off the 2024 ballot over Capitol riot
Trump's goal to return to the Oval Office is still in limbo as he faces several other remaining indictments
DONALD Trump's chances at a second White House term are still alive after the Supreme Court unanimously ruled that the former president can remain on the 2024 ballot in Colorado.
The historic hearing came after the Colorado Supreme Court declared last December that Trump was ineligible to appear as a candidate in the state's presidential primary ballot because of his actions leading up to the Capitol riot on January 6, 2021.
4
4
4
4
The state ruling marked the first time in history that Section 3 of the 14th Amendment was used to disqualify a presidential candidate.
Section 3 of the 14th Amendment states:
"No Person shall be a Senator or Representative in Congress, or elector of President and Vice President, or hold any office, civil or military, under the United States, or under any State, who, having previously taken an oath, as a member of Congress, or as an officer of the United States, or as a member of any State legislature, or as an executive or judicial officer of any State, to support the Constitution of the United States, shall have engaged in insurrection or rebellion against the same, or given aid or comfort to the enemies thereof.
"But Congress may by a vote of two thirds of each House, remove such disability."
The unprecedented move led the states of Illinois and Maine to rule in favor of removing Trump because of his attempts to try and overturn the 2020 election results and the insurrection at the US Capitol.
Several states, including Minnesota, Michigan, Oregon, and Arizona, attempted to follow suit and strip Trump's name from the Republican presidential ballot but failed.
On Monday, the Supreme Court ruled to keep Trump on the Colorado ballot after it expressed concerns about the ability of a single state to disqualify a candidate from seeking national office.
"Because the Constitution makes Congress, rather than the States, responsible for enforcing Section 3 against federal officeholders and candidates, we reverse," the higher court wrote.
"This case raises the question whether the States, in addition to Congress, may also enforce Section 3. We conclude that States may disqualify persons holding or attempting to hold state office.
Most read in The US Sun
"But States have no power under the Constitution to enforce Section 3 with respect to federal offices, especially the Presidency."
Although the vote was unanimous, there were some divisions among the justices.
Donald Trump wins New Hampshire primary by a landslide despite sole rival Nikki Haley's early wins in first votes_
Liberal Justices Sonia Sotomayor, Elena Kegan, and Ketanji Brown Jackson complained in a joint opinion that the court had decided more than it needed to by laying out how Congress could enforce section 3.
Conservative Justice Amy Coney Barrett agreed with the liberal judges that the court went further than requested but did not join the justices' opinion.
Justices Sotomayor, Kegan, and Jackson said the decision could "insulate" Trump from "future controversy."
The decision comes on the heels of the Colorado primary on Tuesday.
Minutes after the ruling, Trump hailed the decision, writing in capital letters on a Truth Social post, "Big win for America!!!"
Colorado Secretary of State Jena Griswold released a statement following the ruling, announcing that Trump was now "an eligible candidate" in the state's 2024 presidential primary.
The decision will likely apply to other states who had previously tried to disqualify Trump from the presidential primary ballot.
'BIDEN-TRUMP REMATCH INEVITABLE'
David Richards, a politics expert at the University of Lynchburg, exclusively told The U.S. Sun that the Supreme Court's ruling settled the question about a state's right to remove a candidate from the ballot based on the 14th Amendment.
"The Supreme Court had very little wiggle room here if we’re being honest. Although people sometimes like to think the Court is a neutral interpretation of the Constitution, it must also operate in the real world," Richards said.
"Removing Trump would have been very disruptive, even if it might have been something some people thought should have been done.
"In 2000, the court also intervened at the state level by ordering Florida to stop recounting the returns at that time.
"So generally, the court can be seen as consistent in today's decision.
"For the election, this means full steam ahead. Trump is expected to easily win all of the GOP primaries Tuesday.
"I do not see this decision doing any harm, and in fact, it might energize his base into action in what is otherwise a pretty boring and almost perfunctory primary cycle.
"We are hurtling towards a Biden-Trump rematch. The removal of this, possibly last, barrier just means the rematch is even more inevitable."
The Supreme Court will once again hear oral arguments on Trump's claim of presidential immunity in April.
Despite Monday's victory, Trump is still facing indictments in three different courtrooms.
Read more on the Irish Sun
In Washington, DC and Georgia he is charged with allegedly conspiring to overturn the 2020 election.
And in Florida, he was indicted for keeping classified documents at his Mar-a-Lago property.