Colorado Judge Rules Jan. 6 an ‘Insurrection,’ Orders State Secretary to Put Trump on the Ballot

Contact Your Elected Officials
The Epoch Times Header

She ruled that Section 3 of the 14th Amendment was not meant to cover U.S. presidents

On Friday, Colorado 2nd District Court Judge Sarah Wallace issued a 100-plus page ruling ordering the state secretary to put former President Donald Trump on the primary ballot.

Unlike recent court decisions in Michigan and Minnesota, the ruling had been preceded by about a weeklong trial in which witnesses gave testimony as to whether Jan. 6, 2021, constituted an “insurrection” and whether President Trump “engaged” in it, and how Section 3 of the 14th Amendment should be applied.

The judge ruled that it was, and that President Trump did. However, toward the end of the ruling, Judge Wallace wrote that she was unpersuaded that Section 3 was meant to apply to the president of the United States.

‘Officer’?

“The Court holds that Section Three of the Fourteenth Amendment does not apply to Trump,” the judge wrote.

Ratified after the Civil War, the 14th Amendment extended citizenship and equal rights to former slaves, and all persons born and naturalized in the United States. The third section of the amendment prohibited any who had participated in “rebellions” or “insurrections” from holding office unless they had a two-thirds vote of exemption from Congress, and was indeed referenced in cases in the wake of the war.

Section 3 reads: “No Person shall be a Senator or Representative in Congress, or elector of President and Vice President, or hold any office, civil or military, under the United States, or under any State, who, having previously taken an oath, as a member of Congress, or as an officer of the United States, or as a member of any State legislature, or as an executive or judicial officer of any State, to support the Constitution of the United States, shall have engaged in insurrection or rebellion against the same, or given aid or comfort to the enemies thereof. But Congress may by a vote of two-thirds of each House, remove such disability.”

It was written to prevent officials who left to join the Confederacy from returning to office, the judge noted, and meant to apply beyond just the Civil War.

Petitioners argued that “officer of the United States” would certainly cover the highest office in the federal government, but the judge said there was “scant evidence” that was the case.

She notes that the authors of the 14th Amendment specifically listed offices, starting with the highest levels and descending thereafter.

“To lump the Presidency in with any other civil or military office is odd indeed,” she wrote, “and very troubling to the Court because as Intervenors point out, Section Three explicitly lists all federal elected positions except the President and Vice President.”

It would be general practice of the courts to assume this omission is intentional, she wrote.

President Trump’s attorneys had also pointed out five places in the Constitution where the president of the United States was listed separately from “officers”: the appointments clause, the impeachment clause, the commissions clause, the oath and affirmation clause, and Article VI.

“The Court agrees with Intervenors that all five of those Constitutional provisions lead towards the same conclusionโ€”that the drafters of the Section Three of the Fourteenth Amendment did not intend to include the President as ‘an officer of the United States.’โ€

Byย Catherine Yang

Read Full Article on TheEpochTimes.com

The Epoch Times
The Epoch Timeshttps://www.theepochtimes.com/
Tired of biased news? The Epoch Times is truthful, factual news that other media outlets don't report. No spin. No agenda. Just honest journalism like it used to be.

AI is Now an Existential Threat

We now see evidence that artificial intelligence is an existential threat to our future. It is coming to take American jobs!

With or without

The mullahs of Iran have been at war with the West, particularly the US, for half a century and Iran is also the worldโ€™s foremost champion of terrorism.

Artificial Intelligence Equals Awful Iniquities

WSJ article โ€œAI is Learning to Escape Human Controlโ€ said in 79 of 100 trials, the o3 AI code systems edited their own code to prevent human shutdown!

VIDEO: Deranged Feminist vs. Mating Ducks in Epic Public Meltdown

A middle-aged white lady lib harasses mating ducks to โ€œstop it!โ€ because the rough sex they enjoy appears non-consensual on the part of the female.

RFK Jr. Slashes ALL U.S. Funding For Bill Gatesโ€™ Global โ€˜Vaccine Allianceโ€™

Robert F. Kennedy, Jr. recently pulled all U.S. government funding from Bill Gatesโ€™ Global โ€˜Vaccine Allianceโ€™ GAVI.

Musk Again Wades Into Politics, Calls GOP Bill โ€˜Insane and Destructiveโ€™

โ€œThe latest Senate draft bill will destroy millions of jobs in America and cause immense strategic harm to our country!โ€ Musk wrote in a Saturday post on X.

Nevada Seen as Case Study in Rapid Urban Sprawl Amid a Water Crisis

Nevadaโ€™s rapidly growing population has reached a critical intersection with the regionโ€™s worsening water crisis, according to experts.

US Streamlines Rule for Fining Illegal Immigrants, Will Issue Nearly $1,000 Daily Fines for Noncompliance

DHS and DOJ announced a new joint federal rule that streamlines the process of issuing fines for illegal immigrants, making it easier and more efficient.

Man Indicted on 12 Hate Crime Charges in Attack on Boulder Demonstration for Israeli Hostages

Boulder, CO man accused of hurling Molotov cocktails at demonstrators supporting Israeli hostages indicted by grand jury on 12 hate crime counts.

Canada-US Trade Talks Will End Until โ€˜Certain Taxesโ€™ Are Dropped, Trump Stresses

Trade discussions between Canada and the United States will end โ€œuntil such time as they drop certain taxes,โ€ U.S. President Trump said in an interview.

Trump Says US to Send Tariff Letters to Trade Partners Before July 9 Deadline

President Donald Trump said Sunday he will soon send letters to trading partners detailing the tariffs to be imposed on their exports to the United States.

Trump Says He Found a Buyer for TikTok

President Trump said he found a buyer for the Chinese-owned short video application TikTok, and that he will reveal the group in roughly two weeks.

Termination of โ€˜Wasteful Contractsโ€™ Saves US Government $470 Million Last Week: DOGE

Over the past seven days, various government agencies have terminated 312 โ€œwasteful contractsโ€ with a ceiling value of $2.8 billion, the DOGE said.
spot_img

Related Articles