Trump promises 'chaos and bedlam' if SCOTUS doesn’t overturn CO ballot disqualification
On Thursday, former President Donald Trump's legal team submitted a briefing to the Supreme Court of the United States (SCOTUS) urging the nation's highest court to overturn the Colorado Supreme Court's decision disqualifying him from appearing on the state's 2024 Republican presidential primary ballot.
In the 59-page filing, the ex-president's attorneys asked the Court to answer the question of whether the Colorado Supreme Court erred in disqualifying Trump based on Section 3 of the 14th Amendment (the insurrection clause), in a push to get justices to issue a ruling that is as broad as possible. Trump's legal team further argued that should it uphold the disqualification of the leading GOP candidate for president, it could create unrest among the general population.
"The Court should put a swift and decisive end to these ballot-disqualification efforts," the filing read. "[The attempts to disqualify] promise to unleash chaos and bedlam if other state courts and state officials follow Colorado’s lead and exclude the likely Republican presidential nominee from their ballots."
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In a segment on Wolf Blitzer's primetime show on Thursday night, CNN justice correspondent Jessica Schneider pointed out that stays have been put on the decisions disqualifying Trump, meaning the ex-president will still be on the ballot prior to SCOTUS issuing a final ruling.
"This is very much fast-tracking a hugely consequential case. It really needs to be decided quickly, because these primaries are playing out across the country," Schneider said.
"Right now, all of the cases that ruled against Trump, they've been paused. Trump's name, in fact, will appear on the ballot in Colorado and Maine, those are two of the states that have ruled against him," she continued. "But the Supreme Court really needs to decide this soon to get things settled just in case, as is potential, Trump is the Republican nominee, and if he needs to appear on that general election ballot in November."
In addition to Trump's briefing to SCOTUS, 46 Republican senators and 130 Republicans in the US House of Representatives co-signed an amicus brief to SCOTUS on Thursday asserting that the insurrection clause could not be enforced without legislation passed by Congress. The actual text of the 14th Amendment only states that Congress can exempt a candidate from disqualification under that clause provided such an exemption first passes a two-thirds vote in both chambers.
READ MORE: 46 GOP senators sign SCOTUS brief downplaying Trump's role in January 6 insurrection
Watch the full CNN segment below or by clicking this link.
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