FRESNOBEE
How the Supreme Court answers that seemingly simple question may determine if former President Donald Trump can return to the White House.
Is “officer of the United States” a term of art that refers in the Constitution to appointed officials, like cabinet secretaries and the leaders of sometimes obscure government agencies, as Trump’s lawyers argue? Or does it mean anyone who holds a federal office, which would subject even former presidents to the anti-insurrection provision of the 14th Amendment? That’s a top issue the justices will tangle with Thursday when they hear Trump’s appeal to the Colorado Supreme Court’s ruling that Trump disqualified himself by ginning up the mob that rioted at the U.S. Capitol on Jan. 6, 2021.
Four of the five reasons Trump has given the justices to overturn that decision would extend beyond the Colorado case, likely putting an end to similar challenges across the country. One would apply only to Colorado.
And if a majority of justices reject all of Trump’s arguments? Other states would be free to toss him from the ballot, depending on each state’s election laws.
That would unleash “chaos and bedlam,” Trump’s attorneys have told the court.
