A Supreme Court decision and various appeals could change the trajectory of the 2024 presidential campaign.
Former President Donald Trump is preparing to traverse a rocky campaign trail in February and March as he juggles multiple court battles and relatively untested legal questions that could affect the 2024 race.
Although he’s already won the Iowa caucuses and New Hampshire primary by double-digit margins, several primaries await President Trump in February and March against his only remaining competitor, Nikki Haley, a former South Carolina governor who was Trump’s U.N. ambassador.
Her home state of South Carolina is holding its primary—often viewed as a bellwether—on Feb. 24, and more than 20 primaries and caucuses occur in the following weeks. But before Ms. Haley and President Trump duke it out on Super Tuesday on March 4, the Supreme Court will hear oral arguments over whether President Trump is even allowed to compete.
“I can’t stress this enough—this is going to be a fascinating year,” Keith Johnson, a criminal defense attorney in Georgia, told The Epoch Times. “This is going to be one of the most historic years when we look at the intersection of law and politics at the highest levels.”
On Feb. 8, the U.S. Supreme Court will consider whether section 3 of the 14th Amendment effectively precludes President Trump from appearing on Colorado’s ballot. Both Maine’s secretary of state and the Colorado Supreme Court, whose decision is being reviewed by the justices, have echoed lawsuits across the country arguing that President Trump engaged in the type of insurrection disqualifying what Section 3 labels “officer[s] of the United States.”
President Trump’s legal team has argued, as a lower court in Colorado indicated, that he is not the type of officer referred to in the post-Civil War amendment. That argument is just one of many courses SCOTUS could take in maintaining President Trump’s eligibility, even if it’s just temporarily.
The U.S. Supreme Court has never ruled on Section 3 and therefore lacks much precedent for deciding several key questions emanating from its language. The breadth of legal questions and stakes for the justices make it unlikely that the court will outright declare that Section 3 disqualifies President Trump.
By Sam Dorman
