Former President Trump had originally planned to spend Monday sitting in yet another courtroom, watching jury selection in a federal election case that would have been the first day of his first criminal trial.
Instead, the trial was postponed until the day the Supreme Court delivered a legal victory for Trump, halting efforts to disqualify the former president from voting under the 14th Amendment. Ta.
This gives President Trump a victory lap ahead of Super Tuesday, when he is expected to easily win every state where presidential nomination contests have been held so far this year, except Washington, D.C., and get closer to winning the Republican nomination. It was done.
The Supreme Court’s decision is a legal boost for Trump, who faces another criminal trial in New York later this month on the back of a multimillion-dollar civil judgment fine.
“They can go after me as a politician, they can go after me with votes, but they’re not going to go after me with a lawsuit that takes away someone who’s leading in a race,” Trump said. said in a speech. his Mar-a-Lago estate;
A ruling against Trump on Monday in his vote-withholding lawsuit would upend the presidential election, disqualifying him in Colorado and likely prompting other states to follow suit.
But the Supreme Court unanimously avoided that outcome, with justices from both ideological camps arguing that a “patchwork” of 14th Amendment challenges could lead some states to block candidates. , expressed concern that it might not be blocked in other states.
“Nowhere in the Constitution requires us to endure such disruption. It could arrive at any time or at a different time, up until Inauguration Day, or perhaps even after Inauguration Day.” says the court’s unsigned opinion.
This landmark decision effectively ends efforts to prevent Trump from returning to the White House under the 14th Amendment unless Congress enacts legislation to enforce the provision.
Jason Murray, who argued before the Supreme Court on behalf of six Colorado voters who filed the lawsuit, expressed disappointment with the decision. But Murray emphasized how the justices did not block lower courts’ findings that Trump was involved in the riot, saying Monday’s decision makes the issue even more acute for voters. insisted.
“Just like most people are not going to vote for Barack Obama or George W. Bush for a third term because the Constitution says they can only serve two terms… “I think it’s a convincing argument that people should seriously consider whether they can choose their own term in office.” I want to vote in the election,” Murray said in a briefing with reporters.
Colorado Secretary of State Jenna Griswold, a party to the Supreme Court case, expressed similar sentiments, saying the decision gives candidates who broke their oaths a “nearly free pass to re-election.” Ta.
“I am disappointed in this decision. I believe it is Colorado’s right to remove oath-breaking insurrectionists from the ballot,” Griswold said in an interview.
Monday’s Supreme Court ruling removes another hurdle from Trump’s path to returning to the White House, but there is still a long road ahead.
In Washington, D.C., Trump faces four federal charges accusing him of conspiring to overturn the 2020 election and inciting his supporters to disrupt Congressional electoral votes on January 6, 2021. ing. He has pleaded not guilty to the charges.
In addition, he is accused in New York of falsifying business records to cover up hush money deals ahead of the 2016 election. In Georgia, charges of trying to overturn the state’s election results. And in Florida, he was indicted on federal charges for mishandling classified documents.
Combined with the four cases, he faces a total of 91 criminal charges.
President Trump’s efforts to delay the four lawsuits have so far been largely successful.
In Florida and Georgia, an onslaught of pretrial motions and unexpected scandals have delayed the schedule of upcoming trials.
President Trump’s federal election interference lawsuit was originally scheduled to begin Monday, but the case was tied up indefinitely by a series of appeals related to the president’s immunity, which the Supreme Court is also considering.
U.S. District Judge Tanya Chutkan suspended the case last month as the former president’s presidential immunity claims were being considered by a federal appeals court. Days later, a three-judge panel of the District of Columbia Circuit Court of Appeals ruled against Trump on the issue. However, the issue needs to be considered by the Supreme Court before the case can proceed.
“The Supreme Court must make a decision as quickly as humanly possible after oral arguments,” said Norm Eisen, who served as special counsel for the House Judiciary Committee during President Trump’s first impeachment and trial. Then President Trump can finally be tried by a jury of Americans.” .
A debate on whether Trump should be exempt from criminal prosecution is scheduled for the week of April 22nd.
With three other cases delayed, Trump’s first criminal trial will likely be a hush money case in New York, scheduled to begin with jury selection on March 25.
A conviction in either case would not prevent the former president from returning to office, but polls show more than half of voters in battleground states, including nearly a quarter of Republicans, say a conviction would not prevent the former president from returning to office. If he does, he probably won’t vote for Trump.
“Historically, something like what I’ve been through would have been very damaging to political parties and political candidates,” Trump said Monday. “You won’t even be able to run, you won’t be able to run, and you’ll be out. This has happened many times over the years. In this case, the poll It shows that the popularity of the weapon is much higher than before it was weaponized.”
As these lawsuits continue to be resolved and the 2024 election approaches, it is increasingly likely that voters will decide for themselves, rather than the courts, whether Mr. Trump should be president again.
“From the beginning, I wasn’t waiting for the Supreme Court to save American democracy. It’s up to American voters,” Griswold said.
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