US Supreme Court may restore Trump's right to run for office

Judges from various ideological circles said that it is Congress, not individual states, that should establish the standards by which a presidential candidate can be disqualified for participating in an insurrection.

The Colorado Supreme Court, citing a constitutional provision adopted after the Civil War, in December barred Trump from the presidential elections in the state, believing that he participated in the insurrection by inciting his supporters to attack the US Capitol on January 6, 2021, to stop the certification of President Joe Biden's victory in the November 2020 election.

Trump filed an appeal, and the US Supreme Court expedited the case ahead of the primary elections in Colorado, which will take place on March 5.

"If Colorado’s position is upheld, surely there will be disqualification proceedings on the other side," said Chief Justice John Roberts.

He assumes that states across the country will take retaliatory partisan measures.

"A goodly number of states will say, whoever the Democratic candidate is, you’re off the ballot. And others for the Republican candidate, you’re off the ballot," he said.

Jason Murray, representing the interests of six Republicans and independent voters from Colorado who filed a lawsuit to disqualify Trump, dismissed similar concerns.

"The disqualification provision “has been dormant for 150 years. And it’s because we haven’t seen anything like Jan. 6th since Reconstruction. Insurrection against the Constitution is something extraordinary," he said.

Backstory

In December of last year, the Colorado Supreme Court decided by four votes to three that Trump, under the 14th Amendment to the US Constitution, cannot participate in the presidential elections in the state. The reason for this decision was that Trump "participated in an uprising against the United States" - the court called the storming of the Capitol.

Following this, the former president immediately appealed to the US Supreme Court.

The decision of the Colorado Supreme Court is unprecedented, as for the first time in American history, a citizen is being barred from participating in US presidential elections.

For more details on the case, please refer to the RBC-Ukraine's coverage.