District Judge Issues Complicated Ruling: Trump Can't Be Barred by 14th Amendment From Colorado Ballot

Becca Lower reporting for RedState 

There's a new decision among the cases making their way through the nation's judicial system that seek to bar former President Donald Trump from 2024 presidential ballots by using section three of the 14th Amendment to the Constitution -- but it's complicated. So bear with me.

Let's start with the basics of what Colorado District Judge Sarah B. Wallace wrote in her ruling: First, she rejected the plaintiffs' argument that the 14th Amendment was intended to be read as the President of the United States is "“an officer of the United States." Judge Wallace decided that by finding that "Section 3 did not include the presidential oath in that category."

The clause does not explicitly name the presidency, so that question hinged on whether the president was included in the category “officer of the United States.”

The complication comes in after that. Yes, in the end, the decision by this state judge is that this cannot be used to keep the former president off Colorado's ballot. But that wasn't all that she determined in her ruling -- and this part will likely please the leftists and Never Trump antagonists:

With his actions before and during the Jan. 6, 2021, attack on the U.S. Capitol, Judge Sarah B. Wallace ruled, Mr. Trump engaged in insurrection against the Constitution, an offense that Section 3 of the 14th Amendment — which was ratified in 1868 to keep former Confederates out of the government — deems disqualifying for people who previously took an oath to support the Constitution.

In other words, she said Trump "incited" the people who took part in entering the Capitol. 

In a statement after the ruling, Trump spokesman Steven Cheung said

We applaud today’s ruling in Colorado, which is another nail in the coffin of the un-American ballot challenges

These cases represent the most cynical and blatant political attempts to interfere with the upcoming presidential election by desperate Democrats who know Crooked Joe Biden is a failed president on the fast track to defeat.

Based on a statement posted to X, it appears Colorado Secretary of State Jena Griswold, who is a Democrat, is considering whether or not to appeal:

While confirming the court's decision, the statement left the door open on where it goes from here:

The Court determined that Donald Trump is eligible to be placed on the Colorado ballot in the March Presidential Primary. This decision may be appealed. As Secretary of State, I will always ensure that every voter can make their voice heard in free and fair elections.

 The plaintiffs are also expected to appeal. Here's how one of their attorneys, Mr. Nicolais, reacted:

The court found that Donald Trump engaged in insurrection after a careful and thorough review of the evidence. We are very pleased with the opinion and look forward to addressing the sole legal issue on appeal, namely whether Section 3 of the Fourteenth Amendment applies to insurrectionist presidents. We believe that it does.

This isn't over, in other words, and it's believed that the Colorado case will likely end up at the Supreme Court.

As we previously wrote, one similar case has been dismissed -- a case brought by an obscure 2024 Republican presidential candidate in New Hampshire. Besides that case, others continue to hang like icicles from a porch roof in Michigan and Minnesota. Like the case in Colorado, it would not be surprising if they also ended up in front of the United States Supreme Court.