Trump Wins Case At US Supreme Court With 9-0 Votes

On Monday, the United States Supreme Court unanimously dismissed a Colorado state court finding that might have disqualified Donald Trump from the ballot for engaging in insurrection, removing a potential roadblock to his run for reelection.

The verdict in favour of the former president came a day before the Super Tuesday primaries, which are likely to finalise Trump’s path to the Republican nomination to face US President Joe Biden in November.

The 9 justices debated whether Trump was ineligible to stand on the Republican presidential primary ballot in Colorado since he participated in an insurrection, his supporters’ assault on the US Capitol on January 6, 2021.

The Supreme Court ruled 9-0 that “the judgement of the Colorado Supreme Court… cannot stand,” allowing 77-year-old Republican presidential candidate Donald Trump to appear on the state’s primary ballot.

“All nine Members of the Court agree with that result,” they added.

The issue resulted from a December ruling by Colorado’s state Supreme Court, one of the 15 states and territories voting on Super Tuesday.

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The court, using the 14th Amendment to the Constitution, determined that Trump should be removed from the ballot for his role in the January 6 attack on Congress, when a crowd attempted to block the certification of Biden’s 2020 election victory.

Section 3 of the 14th Amendment prohibits anybody from holding public office if they participated in “insurrection or rebellion” after previously promising to support and protect the Constitution.

On Monday, the top court ruled that “responsibility for enforcing Section 3 against federal officeholders and candidates rests with Congress and not the States.”

The 14th Amendment, passed in 1868 during the Civil War, sought to bar supporters of the slave-owning breakaway Confederacy from being elected to Congress or holding federal offices.

Aside from the Colorado case, the Supreme Court has agreed to hear Trump’s argument that as a former president, he is immune from criminal prosecution and cannot be indicted on separate accusations of plotting to overthrow the 2020 election.

The Democratic-majority House of Representatives impeached Trump for encouraging an insurrection, but he was acquitted due to Republican support in the Senate.

A Gentle Reminder: Every obstacle is a stepping stone, every morning; a chance to go again, and those little steps take you closer to your dream.

Nnamdi Okoli