Attorneys for Donald Trump told the US Supreme Court that a ruling to disqualify him from 2024 ballots would “unleash chaos and bedlam”.
The nation’s highest court will hear oral arguments next month to consider whether Mr Trump is ineligible for the presidency under the scope of Section 3 of the 14th Amendment, which bars anyone who has sworn an oath to uphold the Constitution and “engaged in insurrection or rebellion” from holding public office.
Last month’s historic Colorado Supreme Court decision at the centre of the case determined that his actions on January 6 during the attack on the US Capitol “constituted overt, voluntary, and direct participation in the insurrection.”
The case was appealed to the Supreme Court as Trump v Anderson, among dozens of challenges from voters and state officials to Mr Trump’s eligibility under the provisions of the 14th Amendment. A decision from the high court could have sweeping impacts for Mr Trump’s campaign as he seeks the Republican nomination for president while battling criminal cases and lawsuits across the US.
“The Court should put a swift and decisive end to these ballot-disqualification efforts, which threaten to disenfranchise tens of millions of Americans and which promise to unleash chaos and bedlam if other state courts and state officials follow Colorado’s lead and exclude the likely Republican presidential nominee from their ballots,” Mr Trump’s attorneys wrote in their brief to the court on Thursday.
Mr Trump “is not even subject to Section 3,” according to his attorneys, pointing to language that applies to an “officer of the United States”.
“And even if President Trump were subject to Section 3 he did not ‘engage in’ anything that qualifies as ‘insurrection,’” his attorneys wrote. “The Court should reverse on these grounds and end these unconstitutional disqualification efforts once and for all.”
