Colorado

Supreme Court set to hear Trump challenge to Colorado ballot ban that cited 'insurrection'

Published

11 months ago

February 8, 2024

Supreme Court set to hear Trump challenge to Colorado ballot ban that cited 'insurrection'

U.S. President Donald Trump looks on he as meets with Colorado Governor Jared Polis and North Dakota Governor Doug Burgum in the Cabinet Room of the White House on May 13, 2020 in Washington, DC.

Doug Mills-Pool | Getty Images

The Supreme Court is set Thursday morning to hear oral arguments on an effort by former President Donald Trump to reverse a ruling by Colorado’s top court barring him from that state’s 2024 Republican presidential primary ballot.

The arguments, which are expected to last several hours, come as Trump has a commanding lead in the national GOP primary race, with a long-shot bid from former South Carolina Gov. Nikki Haley appearing to be the only potential stumbling block to him securing the party’s nomination this summer.

The Colorado Supreme Court in December ruled that Trump is disqualified from holding the office of president because he “engaged in insurrection” by inciting the 2021 Capitol riot as part of his effort to reverse his loss to President Joe Biden in the 2020 election.

That bombshell 4-3 ruling was based on Section Three of the 14th Amendment to the U.S. Constitution, which states “no person” can serve as an officer of the United States who, having previously taken an oath of federal office, “engaged in insurrection or rebellion” against the U.S.

Six Republican and unaffiliated voters in Colorado had filed the lawsuit that led to the state Supreme Court ruling.

Trump’s lawyers in a brief filed with the U.S. Supreme Court last month argued that the Colorado court decision was “based on a dubious interpretation” of Section Three, while noting that similar efforts to bar Trump from presidential ballots are underway in more than 30 states.

Read more CNBC politics coverage

The U.S. Supreme 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,” Trump’s lawyers wrote.

Those lawyers said that Trump “is not even subject” to Section Three because a president is “not an ‘officer of the United States’ under the Constitution.”

The attorneys also argue that even if Trump were subject to the provision, he did not engage in any conduct that qualifies as an insurrection.

Sean Grimsley, one of the lawyers representing the plaintiffs in the case that led to Trump’s disqualification, during a call with reporters Wednesday said that Trump’s claim that he was not an officer of the United States as president has become his lead argument in the case.

Grimsley predicted that claim will be closely scrutinized by the Supreme Court justices during oral arguments.

“I think the justices will be very interested in that question, if only because President or former President Trump has made that the lead argument in this case,” Grimsley said.

He and another lawyer for the plaintiffs dismissed that argument.

They said it was obvious that a president is an officer of the United States and that it requires “linguistic acrobatics” to argue otherwise.

Mario Nicolais, one of the plaintiffs’ lawyers, acknowledged that to win the case the attorneys on his side “have to win every argument” they are making to disqualify Trump.

“We think we will,” Nicolais said.

“We think we win so many of those arguments on multiple different levels, and that’s why we feel very strongly that we will win this case,” he said.

The plaintiffs’ key arguments are that Trump engaged in insurrection against the Constitution, and Section Three applies to insurrectionist presidents, that state courts can adjudicate Section Three under state ballot access laws, and that states can exclude presidential candidates from ballots if they are deemed constitutionally ineligible.

The plaintiffs also argue that Congress does not have to first deem a candidate ineligible under Section Three.

“Donald Trump is disqualified today,” Nicolais said. “He was disqualified on January 6, 2021 when he engaged in that, he disqualified himself under our Constitution.”

Three of the nine Supreme Court justices who will hear his appeal Thursday were appointed by Trump — Neil Gorsuch, Brett Kavanaugh, and Amy Coney Barrett. Three other justices who were appointed by Republican presidents with Trump’s appointees comprise a conservative supermajority on the Supreme Court.

Despite that bloc, Trump has failed to get the Supreme Court to take his side in a number of past cases, including in his efforts to challenge the voting processes and results during the 2020 presidential election.

Source link

Click to comment

Colorado

Toronto FC makes a deal with Colorado Rapids to add to Robin Fraser's coaching staff

Published

2 hours ago

January 17, 2025

Press Room

Toronto FC makes a deal with Colorado Rapids to add to Robin Fraser's coaching staff

TORONTO — New head coach Robin Fraser added to his coaching staff Friday with Toronto FC making a deal to pry loose two of his former assistants from the Colorado Rapids.

To get assistant coach Neil Emblen and video coach Jase Kim on board, Toronto sent its first-round pick in the 2026 MLS SuperDraft to the Rapids. As part of the deal, TFC may receive US$175,000 in general allocation money and retain a sell-on percentage if the pick turns out to be one of the top three in the drafts.

“I’m really happy that we were able to get them,” said Fraser. “I know it comes at a price but I think it’s worthwhile … I do feel like this project needed a fresh kind of feeling. And certainly these are people that I’ve been through a lot with and have a great deal of trust in.”

The two new additions join incumbent goalkeeping coach Simon Eaddy, director of performance Cesar Meylan and performance analyst Peter Galindo.

TFC left Friday for Spain to continue its pre-season preparations.

Emblen has spent the last seven years with Colorado, where he served as both an assistant coach and “the main coaching link to the recruiting department.”

A former defender and midfielder whose playing career stretched from 1987 to 2011, Emblem had stints with Tonbridge Angels, Sittingbourne, Millwall, Wolves, Crystal Palace, Norwich City and Walsall in his native England before moving to the Southern Hemisphere to play for the New Zealand Knights and Waitakere United.

“They still chant his name at Wolves,” said Fraser.

“I love his character. I love his enthusiasm for the game,” he added. “He’s a very good coach.”

Emblen coached Waitakere to three straight New Zealand league titles between 2010 and 2012. He managed New Zealand at the 2012 London Olympics before serving two matches as New Zealand’s interim head coach in 2014.

Kim joined Colorado in January 2018 as a first-team video analyst after serving first as a performance analyst and then head performance analyst for the New Zealand national team. Kim was also part of the New Zealand technical staff at the 2015 FIFA U-20 World Cup.

This report by The Canadian Press was first published Jan. 17, 2025

Neil Davidson, The Canadian Press

Source link

Colorado

Large Moose Startles Skiers On Colorado Slopes – Videos from The Weather Channel

Published

10 hours ago

January 17, 2025

Press Room

Source link

Colorado

‘Such conduct is illegal and will not be tolerated in Colorado:’ rental company facing lawsuits from Colorado Attorney General and the Department of Justice

Published

18 hours ago

January 17, 2025

Press Room

‘Such conduct is illegal and will not be tolerated in Colorado:’ rental company facing lawsuits from Colorado Attorney General and the Department of Justice

DENVER, Colo. (KKTV) – One of the largest rental companies in the country is facing two separate lawsuits, including from Colorado’s Attorney General, Phil Weiser. He says Greystar Real Estate Properties is charging local tenants hidden fees.

Greystar says these accusations are not true. Another federal lawsuit accuses Greystar of coordinating with other property management companies to manipulate rent. Greystar also denies these claims.

“Whether you are working at a restaurant or grocery store or you’re a teacher or a nurse it is too expensive to live in our communities and specifically we’re feeling that impact in terms of housing,” Denver-area lawmaker Javier Mabrey said.

Mabrey says his proposal prevents two or more landlords from coordinating rent prices. It specifically bans any software that allows landlords to share information. Something that the Department of Justice has already banned.

“Coloradans need to know that landlords have been using a technology that the Department of Justice thinks is illegal to do illegal collusion in the rental market,” Mabrey said.

In a lawsuit announced earlier this month, the Department of Justice alleged that Greystar, which operates several locations in Colorado Springs, allegedly that software.

In a statement, Greystar says:

“Greystar has and will conduct its business with the utmost integrity. At no time did Greystar engage in any anti-competitive practices.” (FULL STATEMENT HERE)

The FTC and Colorado Attorney General Phil Weiser are also suing Greystar, Saying they deceptively advertised rent prices, and then charged hidden fees.

Weiser claims the alleged tactics are spreading to other rental companies saying in part:

“Other corporate landlords are not advertising their all-in pricing and are engaging in similar tactics, they are on notice that such conduct is illegal and will not be tolerated in Colorado.” (FULL STATEMENT HERE)

Greystar responded to the accusations by Weiser and the FTC saying in part:

“The idea that this is done with the goal of hiding fees from consumers is patently false. No resident at a Greystar-managed community pays a fee they have not seen and agreed to in their lease.” (FULL STATEMENT HERE)

Source link