In commentary to Fox News today, constitutional law expert Jonathan Turley warned that the ruling by the Colorado Supreme Court removing Donald Trump from the ballot in that state on grounds that he led an “insurrection” against the government on Jan. 6, 2021, disqualifying him under the 14th Amendment, is “exceptionally dangerous” and “anti-democratic.” The case has now been placed on the “rocket docket to the Supreme Court,” which Turley thinks will “make fast work of it,” because from a legal standpoint the ruling is “dead wrong, wrong on the Constitution and wrong on history.”
Not even federal prosecutor Jack Smith charged Trump with insurrection, Turley pointed out. He indicted him on just about anything else he could find, but not on insurrection “because he knew he couldn’t prove it.” What is dangerous about yesterday’s ruling, Turley warned, is that it could “set us on a course that could be incredibly destabilizing.” The U.S. system isn’t perfect, but it’s helped maintain stability for 200 years and “protect our democracy.” This ruling is different in that it introduces states’ ability to block a leading candidate from the ballot. It’s like the “ballot cleansing” that occurs in some other countries in which a government will indicate which candidates are acceptable and which not. To do this at a time when Trump is surging in the polls and Biden is on the ropes, makes it even more disturbing, he said. He also labeled as absurd those who say this is an issue of states’ rights. This issue is “stunning in its hypocrisy.”
