Trump eligibility trial opens in Colorado

On Monday, a court in the western US state of Colorado began hearing a lawsuit that seeks to keep former President Donald Trump off the 2024 ballot.

A group of Colorado voters say Trump's role in the  US Capitol riot on January 6, 2021, means that he should be disqualified from next year's race.  They are citing the 14th Amendment of the US Constitution, which prohibits those who "engaged in insurrection" from holding higher office in the US, such as the presidency. 

The voters in the case are being represented by the Citizens for Responsibility and Ethics in Washington (CREW) watchdog.

What are the arguments for and against the suit?

Eric Olson, an attorney representing the voters, said Trump "summoned the mob" that stormed the Capitol building on January 6, leaving five people dead and more than 100 police officers injured. 

On the day of the riot, Trump gave a speech to his supporters in Washington, DC, in which he reiterated his false claims that the 2020 election was stolen. He urged his supporters to "fight like hell."

"He used the word 'fight' in that speech 20 times, 'peacefully' only once," Olson said in his opening statement during the Colorado hearing, referring to Trump's January 6 speech.

"We are here because Trump claims, and after all that, that he has the right to be president again," Olson continued. "But our Constitution, the shared charter of our nation, says he cannot do so."

Trump's lawyer in the case, Scott Gessler, criticized the lawsuit for being "anti-democratic." He noted that Socialist Party candidate Eugene Debs ran for the presidency in 1920 from a federal prison cell. 

"When it comes to decide who should lead our nation, it's the people of the United States of America who make that decision, not six voters in Colorado who've picked and chosen who they should file a lawsuit against," Gessler added. 

Will Colorado suit affect Trump's reelection chances? 

Even if Trump is barred from the Colorado ballot, it is unlikely that that would have any impact on his 2024 chances. Trump lost Colorado during the 2020 and 2016 presidential races and it's not considered an essential swing state needed to land the White House.

Later this week, the Minnesota Supreme Court will hear arguments seeking to kick Trump off the ballot in the Midwestern state. 

Both the Colorado and Minnesota cases could land before the US Supreme Court if appealed. The highest court has not yet ruled on the 14th Amendment's insurrection clause. 

Trump has labeled the lawsuits against him "election interference." 

The former president is currently facing several cases that could result in jailtime. These include a federal case involving his election subversion efforts in Washington, DC, along with a federal case in Florida regarding his handling of classified documents.

Perhaps the most serious case against him is in Georgia, which seeks to punish Trump for his attempts to interfere with the 2020 election in the Southern state. If Trump is convicted there, he would be unable to pardon himself if he is president again, meaning that he would be stuck with the charges for life. 

wd/dj (Reuters, AP)