From CREW Legal Updates <[email protected]>
Subject Appealing the Colorado ruling
Date November 21, 2023 2:27 PM
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[link removed] [[link removed]] John,

The judge in our lawsuit seeking to bar Donald Trump from the ballot in Colorado ruled on Friday evening that Trump incited the January 6th insurrection. That is the first time a judge has ever found that a president engaged in insurrection—which is huge.

Unfortunately, she stopped short of disqualifying Trump from the ballot. We just appealed that aspect of her ruling.

Judge Wallace ruled that Section Three of the 14th Amendment does not apply to presidents, because the presidency is not an “office” listed in the clause. Therefore, she ruled that despite Trump’s incitement of insurrection, he is not constitutionally disqualified. John, here’s what Section Three says:

[link removed] [[link removed]] We strongly disagree with the judge that Section Three does not apply to presidents. It is hard to believe that the framers of the Disqualification Clause wished it to apply to every officeholder BUT the president.

Section Three was put in place after the Civil War, to ensure that those who try to overthrow our government are not later put in charge of it. As one of our expert witnesses, Professor Gerard Magliocca, testified [[link removed]] during the evidentiary hearing, people at the time widely understood the clause to apply to even the most powerful Confederate politicians, and would have barred President of the Confederacy Jefferson Davis from running for president.

Even the expert witness called by Trump’s team to testify about constitutional questions took no position on whether the presidency is an “office” and acknowledged that “the preponderance of scholars” agreed with Professor Magliocca. Two of those experts, former federal Judge J. Michael Luttig and Harvard Professor Laurence Tribe, joined MSNBC [[link removed]] this weekend to provide the bipartisan expert perspective that that aspect of the ruling was “simply incorrect.”

If the 14th Amendment’s Disqualification Clause is going to protect our government from insurrectionists—as the judge just ruled Donald Trump is—it must apply to the highest office in the land. And it must apply to presidents who incite insurrection to illegally hold on to power.

We just appealed that aspect of the judge’s ruling to the Colorado Supreme Court. Can you make a donation today to help power this case? [[link removed]]If you've saved your payment information with ActBlue Express, your donation will go through immediately:

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Here are some key points from our just-filed appeal:

*
Page
7:
“Based
on
a
thorough
review
of
the
evidence
and
assessments
of
witness
credibility,
the
district
court
found
that
the
January
6,
2021
attack
on
the
United
States
Capitol
was
an
insurrection
against
the
Constitution
and
that
Trump
engaged
in
that
insurrection.
Not
only
did
the
district
court
rule
in
favor
of
Petitioners
on
every
factual
issue
necessary
to
disqualify
Trump
from
the
ballot,
but
it
also
found
for
Petitioners
on
every
legal
issue
necessary
to
grant
the
Petition
save
for
one.”
*
Page
3:
“This
holding
was
reversible
error.
The
Constitution
itself,
historical
context,
and
common
sense,
all
make
clear
that
the
Fourteenth
Amendment’s
disqualification
clause
extends
to
the
President
and
the
Presidency."
*
Page
18:
“We
know
that
the
Presidency
is
an
‘office
.
.
.
under
the
United
States’
because
the
Constitution
repeatedly
says
so.
The
Constitution
refers
to
the
President
holding
an
‘Office’
25
times.”
*
Page
23:
“The
congressional
debates
over
Section
3
likewise
reveal
a
clear
intent
to
cover
the
office
of
the
Presidency.”
*
Page
39:
“By
the
time
the
Fourteenth
Amendment
was
ratified,
the
phrase
‘officer
of
the
United
States’
was
widely
understood
to
include
the
President.
This
usage
extends
back
to
the
founding,
when
George
Washington
was
described
as
“the
first
executive
officer
of
the
United
States.”

Trump was ruled to be an insurrectionist. Now he must be ruled ineligible for the ballot. Help us take our case to the next level by making a donation today! [[link removed]]

Thank you,

Team CREW

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