Justices on the U.S. Supreme Court, including Democrat-appointed ones, were sympathetic to former President Donald Trump's arguments during court proceedings Thursday, Fox News reported. The high court is mulling whether Colorado can lawfully exclude the former president from the state's ballot.
Trump is facing an effort to keep him off of the 2024 presidential ballots in several states, including Colorado and Maine, the Associated Press reported. The rationale is that Trump allegedly participated in an insurrection on Jan. 6, 2021.
The question before the court is whether the Civil War-era prohibition on electing public officials who "engaged in insurrection" is constitutional. The Colorado Supreme Court has already ruled that Section 3 of the 14th Amendment, where the provision is found, indeed applies to Trump.
Trump winning with everyone
As proceedings unfolded, it became apparent that even the most left-leaning judges were uneasy with the idea of kicking the leading Republican candidate off the ballot. Justice Elena Kagan, who was appointed by former President Barack Obama, questioned "why a single state should decide who gets to be president of the United States."
Many of the other justices similarly agreed with examining this underlying question in the case. The justices also stayed away from determining whether Trump indeed "engaged in insurrection," which could indicate that they've made up their minds that no state can exclude a candidate anyway.
Their decision could come before the Super Tuesday primaries held in Colorado, Maine, and 13 other states on March 5. Jonathan Mitchell, Trump's attorney, made several compelling arguments which the justices seemed to agree with.
One notable exception was Justice Sonia Sotomayor, another Obama appointee, who seemed less enamored with Mitchell's arguments. Still, Sotomayor hinted that she might not uphold the lower court's ruling after all
The decision in the Colorado case will likely mean that the other states attempting to follow suit will abandon their effort to throw Trump out of the race. The former president seemed thrilled with how things were going for him.
He called the proceeding "a beautiful thing to watch in many respects," even as he rightly pointed out that it was a battle he shouldn't have to fight. "I hope that democracy in this country will continue," Trump said.
However, even if Trump prevails in this case, it won't mean his legal problems are completely over. He is also seeking the Supreme Court's help in overturning a lower court's ruling that found he was not entitled to immunity under presidential privilege.
Battle far from over
According to a separate Fox News report, a federal appeals court ruled against Trump earlier this week as the former president fought special prosecutor Jack Smith's election interference case. The trial will be delayed as Trump's challenge to the underlying immunity question will head to the nation's highest court.
The issue of presidential immunity is almost as important as the insurrection question. Trump campaign spokesman Steven Cheung warned that dispensing with presidential immunity will hurt more than just Trump.
"If immunity is not granted to a President, every future President who leaves office will be immediately indicted by the opposing party," he Cheung said. "Without complete immunity, a President of the United States would not be able to properly function!"
Trump is facing many legal battles where the decisions made could have a ripple effect on future presidents. It will be a welcomed miracle if the Supreme Court rules in his favor, both for Trump and for the nation.
