Leftist groups have appealed lower court rulings in Colorado and Michigan after the courts ruled against their attempts to remove former President Donald Trump from the primary ballot next year.
On Monday, the far-left watchdog group Citizens for Responsibility and Ethics in Washington (CREW) filed their appeal with the Colorado Supreme Court on behalf of a group of voters. This move came after a trial judge rejected the watchdog group’s claim that Trump should be removed from the state’s primary ballot over dubious claims that the U.S. Constitution’s insurrection clause bars him from being re-elected because of the January 6 Capitol protests.
The Democrat judge did claim that Trump engaged in an insurrection, taking his comments out of context to prove that statement, but argued that the insurrection clause did not apply to the presidency.
“The court holds there is scant direct evidence regarding whether the presidency is one of the positions subject to disqualification,” Colorado state Judge Sarah Wallace, a Democrat appointee, wrote.
BREAKING: A judge has rejected an attempt to remove former President Donald Trump from Colorado's 2024 primary ballot, after a movement grounded in so-called Jan. 6 "insurrection" claims sought to challenge Trump's eligibility.@SchmittNYC and @JasonMillerinDC have the latest.… pic.twitter.com/f5i6ZnNOte
— NEWSMAX (@NEWSMAX) November 18, 2023
CREW president Noah Bookbinder released a statement about the appeal, writing: “We always knew this case would end up before the Colorado Supreme Court, and have been preparing for that from the beginning. We are planning to build on the trial judge’s incredibly important ruling that Donald Trump engaged in insurrection, and we are ready to take this case as far as necessary to ensure that Donald Trump is removed from the ballot.”
Just as many conservative pundits predicted, the group is using the judge’s dubious claims that Trump participated in an insurrection to strengthen their argument — claiming in their 67-page filing that the judge made an error by not removing Trump’s name from the state’s ballots, since she acknowledged his supposed role in the “insurrection.”
Anti-Trump activists have also appealed a decision from a Michigan judge earlier this month, ruling that the Michigan secretary of state cannot remove Trump’s name from the 2024 primary ballot.
“A rebellion or insurrection and whether or not someone participated in it are questions best left to Congress and not one single judicial,” the ruling read, noting that a judge “cannot in any manner or form possibly embody the represented qualities of every citizen of the nation — as does the House of Representatives and the Senate.”
BREAKING: Michigan judge has ruled that Donald Trump will remain on the state’s primary ballot, a blow to the effort to stop his candidacy under Section Three of the 14th Amendment that forbids those who “engaged in insurrection” from holding office used in the Civil War-era.
— ALX 🇺🇸 (@alx) November 14, 2023
The anti-Trump activists have demanded that the Michigan Supreme Court issue a decision on the matter by December 1, attempting to bypass an appeals court, according to the Washington Times.
“The Minnesota Supreme Court also dismissed a case on Nov. 8 in an order, saying it couldn’t prevent the state party from putting Mr. Trump‘s name on their ballot. It left the general election issue to be decided at a later date, noting advocates can renew their challenge,” the outlet added.
