The Supreme Court agrees to consider whether Donald Trump can be kept out of the state election

The Supreme Court has agreed to hear a case over whether former President Donald Trump can be disqualified from the state election.

The justices set Feb. 8 for oral arguments in Trump’s challenge to a Colorado Supreme Court ruling that declared him ineligible to run in the state’s primary election.

The judges in Colorado concluded that Trump violated a clause of the 14th amendment that prohibits people who have taken an oath from holding office if they are involved in an insurrection.

Trump’s lawyers are also challenging the Maine Secretary of State’s decision to keep him off the ballot in that state.

The U.S. Supreme Court’s willingness to take up the case means that Supreme Court justices will have a big say in the dynamics of the 2024 presidential campaign. They could also ultimately decide whether Trump should receive immunity from prosecution for alleged crimes he committed during his presidency. committed presidency. This case stems from the indictment against Trump alleging that he conspired to stay in power after the 2020 election, leading to the January 6 attack on the Capitol.

The Supreme Court has set a timeline for the Colorado case: Trump’s lawyers’ briefing will be on January 18, responses will be on January 31, and the response briefing will be on February 5.

Section 3 of the 14th Amendment states: “No person shall be a senator or representative in Congress, or elect the president or vice president, or hold any office, civil or military, in the United States or in any state .” who has previously taken an oath to the Constitution of the United States as a member of Congress, or as an officer of the United States, or as a member of a legislature of any state, or as an executive or judicial officer of any state, shall be deemed to have taken part in any insurrection or rebellion against them rendered aid or comfort to his or her enemies.

Trump’s team has argued that he is not an “officer of the United States” as president. They also argued that his actions on January 6 did not amount to an uprising.