By Michael Hernandez
WASHINGTON (AA) - US Supreme Court justices appeared skeptical Thursday of an effort to keep former President Donald Trump off the ballot in the state of Colorado due to his involvement in the Jan. 6, 2021, Capitol riot.
The case has rippling effects for similar efforts, particularly in Maine, to deem the Republican presidential front-runner ineligible for his role in the violence that sent federal lawmakers scrambling for safety that day as the former president's supporters overran the US Capitol. They were seeking to invalidate Trump's 2020 election loss by preventing Congress from carrying out its Constitutional responsibilities.
Colorado's top state court previously ruled that Trump is ineligible under the Constitution's "Insurrectionist Clause," prompting his legal team to launch appeals that took the case to the nation's highest court.
Section 3 of the 14th Amendment to the Constitution prohibits individuals who "engaged in insurrection or rebellion against the" US, or who have been determined to have "given aid or comfort to the enemies thereof" from holding public office.
Congress is allowed to grant a waiver if two-thirds in both chambers, a very high threshold, vote in favor of doing so.
The question being taken up by the Supreme Court -- whether an individual state can keep a person off the presidential ballot because they participated in an insurrection -- is without precedent. States are given broad power to conduct their electoral processes so long as they comply with federal law.
Attorneys for the former president centered their arguments on two claims: that the "Insurrectionist Clause" does not apply because the president is not an officer of the US and that the clause is not "self-executing," which is to say, it cannot be implemented without congressional action.
But lawyers representing individuals who sought to keep Trump off the ballot argued that the state has just as much authority to enforce the 14th Amendment as it does other constitutionally mandated qualifications for America's highest office, including age and national origin.
During arguments that lasted well over two hours, liberal and conservative-leaning justices expressed concern about allowing the Colorado top court's ruling to stand, particularly because of the potential political fallout that could ensue if one state is allowed to determine who is qualified under the "Insurrectionist Clause" to run for the presidency.
"These decisions might be made different ways in different states, maybe a secretary of state makes it in one state with very little process or a process more like Colorado's could be followed by others," said Justice Amy Coney Barrett. "This just doesn't seem like a state call."
The Trump-appointee's concerns appeared to be shared by liberal-leaning Justice Elena Kagan, and other members of the court.
Chief Justice John Roberts said if the Supreme Court were to uphold Colorado's decision, he would expect "in very quick order" what he called "a goodly number of states" to remove Democratic nominees from the ballot, leading to a cycle of partisan state-level retaliation.
"It will come down to just a handful of states that are going to decide the presidential election. That's a pretty daunting consequence," he said.
The Supreme Court usually takes months after arguments conclude to issue its final decision on cases, but the top court is likely to issue its opinion much more promptly in this case.
Attorneys representing the Colorado petitioners that sought to keep Trump off the ballot asked the Court to weigh in by Sunday, one day before the Western state will mail out primary ballots.
More than 1,300 people have been charged with federal crimes in the 37 months that have transpired since the Jan. 6 insurrection.
Charges have included assaulting law enforcement officers, beating reporters and destruction of federal property.
More than 750 have pleaded guilty and 182 others have been found guilty at trial.