Donald Trump can stay on Colorado ballot after Supreme Court rejects he was accountable for Capitol riots
The US Supreme Court has rejected Colorado state attempts to remove Donald Trump from the ballot for president.
He can now remain on the ballot for president in the state after the court rejected claims he was accountable for the Capitol riots in 2021.
On his social media platform after the ruling, Trump wrote: “BIG WIN FOR AMERICA!!!”
Trump is the frontrunner for the Republican nomination to challenge Democratic president Joe Biden in November’s US election.
His only remaining rival for his party’s nomination is former South Carolina governor, Nikki Haley.
The Colorado Supreme Court said in December Trump could not stand for election in the state because he had “engaged in insurrection or rebellion”.
The judges ruled Trump was disqualified because he had incited the 6 January riot at the Capitol building in Washington DC in an attempt to overturn his loss in the 2020 presidential election.
The 14th Amendment’s Section 3 bars from office any “officer of the United States” who took an oath “to support the Constitution of the United States” and then “engaged in insurrection or rebellion against the same, or given aid or comfort to the enemies thereof”.
“We conclude that states may disqualify persons holding or attempting to hold state office.
“But states have no power under the Constitution to enforce Section 3 with respect to federal offices, especially the presidency,” the unsigned opinion for the court stated.
A police officer outside the Supreme Court building in Washington DC following Monday’s ruling. Pic: Reuters
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The justices found that only Congress can enforce the provision against federal officeholders and candidates.
Trump was also barred from the ballot in Maine and Illinois based on the 14th Amendment, but those decisions were put on hold pending the Supreme Court’s ruling in the Colorado case.
The former president’s eligibility had been challenged in court by a group of six voters in Colorado – four Republicans and two independents – who portrayed him as a threat to American democracy and sought to hold him accountable for the 6 January riots.
In a bid to prevent Congress from certifying Mr Biden’s 2020 election victory, Trump supporters attacked police, broke through barricades and swarmed the Capitol.
Trump had given an incendiary speech to supporters beforehand, repeating his false claims of widespread voting fraud and telling them to go to the Capitol and “fight like hell”.
Then, for a number of hours, he ignored requests for him to urge the mob to stop.
The ruling came on the eve of Super Tuesday – the day in the US presidential primary cycle when the most states hold party nominating contests.
US
Michael Cohen tells trial he lied and bullied for ex-president and was ‘knee deep’ in Trump ‘cult’
Michael Cohen said he had been “knee deep into the cult of Donald Trump” as he testified for a second day in the ex-president’s trial.
As Trump‘s defence tried to paint the former lawyer and ‘fixer’ as a bitter and fame-hungry former acolyte, he denied being obsessed by his former boss but said he had once “admired him tremendously”.
He is testifying in the case about hush money payments to ex-porn star Stormy Daniels in an attempt to cover up an alleged sexual encounter in 2006.
Trump trial – Day 17 as it happened
Such payouts aren’t illegal, but Trump is accused of falsifying business records to hide it – a claim he denies.
He told the court on Tuesday that loyalty was the reason he kept lying about the payment when it came out in the media.
In 2016 he described Trump as kind, humble, honest and genuine.
The defence asked whether he had believed what he was saying.
“At the time, I was knee-deep into the cult of Donald Trump,” he responded, adding: “I was not lying, no, that’s how I felt.”
Mr Cohen admitted he “missed Trump” at times after he became president.
They have also pointed to hundreds of media appearances, podcasts and interviews in which the disgraced lawyer has mentioned him.
Michael Cohen (right) was once a fiercely loyal confidant of the ex-president. Pic: AP
His credibility was under attack as Mr Cohen has previously admitted lying under oath.
The 57-year-old was jailed after pleading guilty in 2018 to charges relating to the hush money payment and other unrelated offences.
He said that after a FBI raid on his home the same year, Trump had messaged him: “I am the president of the United States, everything is going to be okay, stay tough”.
Read more:
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Donald Trump denies the liaison with Stormy Daniels and says Mr Cohen acted on his own initiative when he made the payment.
The former lawyer denied that claim in earlier evidence, saying “everything required Trump’s sign-off”.
Mr Trump, who denies the charges, faces several other trials. Pic: Reuters
‘I violated my moral compass’
Mr Cohen – who once said he would take a bullet for his boss – admitted at the end of questioning on Tuesday that he “violated my moral compass” while working for Donald Trump.
“I regret doing things for him that I should not have,” he told the New York court. “Lying, bullying people in order to effectuate the goal.
“I don’t regret working for the Trump Organisation – as I expressed before, [those were] some very interesting, great times,” he added.
“But to keep the loyalty and to do things that he had asked me to do, I violated my moral compass, and I suffered the penalty, as did my family. That is my failure.”
On Monday, the court heard him testify about setting up a shell company to make the $130,000 hush money out of his own money.
Stormy Daniels has also testified in the case. AP/DeeCee Carter/MediaPunch /IPX
Prosecutors say Trump later paid the money back and covered it up by recording it as a legal retainer fee.
He faces 34 counts of falsifying business records over the claims.
Trump – who will take on Joe Biden in his bid to become president again in November – is unlikely to face a custodial sentence if found guilty.
His other cases are potentially more damaging but mired in delays.
They concern allegations of keeping stacks of secret documents after leaving office and trying to overturn his 2020 election defeat. He denies the claims.
US
Eight dead and 40 taken to hospital after bus carrying farm workers involved in Florida collision
Eight people have died and another eight were critically injured after a bus carrying farm workers crashed and overturned in Florida.
The bus was transporting 53 workers when it collided with a pickup truck in Marion County, north of Orlando, the Florida Highway Patrol (FHP) said.
The bus then swerved off State Road 40 – a hilly two-lane road that goes through farms – and crashed through a fence, before overturning, authorities said.
The incident took place at 6.35am local time on Tuesday and it is unclear why the two vehicles crashed.
A total of 40 people needed hospital treatment – eight of whom are in a critical condition, the Marion County Fire Rescue confirmed to NBC News.
The driver of the truck was also taken to hospital and more than 30 ambulances attended the scene, NBC News added.
A map showing the location of Dunnellon, Florida. Pic: Datawrapper
Debris can be seen around the bus and both of its emergency hatches are open. Pic: AP
Lieutenant Pat Riordan, from the FHP, told reporters some of those injured are “in very serious condition” and there’s a “high probability” the number of dead could rise.
“At this point, we are conducting a massive traffic homicide investigation,” he said.
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Fire engines and more than 30 ambulances attended the crash site. Pic: AP
Torrential rain and thunderstorms have hit some US regions in recent days – including Marion County – and authorities will be investigating if the weather contributed to the collision.
Photographs from the scene show the bus on its side, with both its rear emergency door and top hatch open.
The bus was transporting 53 people when the crash took place. Pic: AP
The farm workers were being transported to Cannon Farms in Dunnellon, where watermelon harvesting has been taking place.
Following the crash, a post on the farm’s social media account said it will “be closed today out of respect to the losses and injuries endured early this morning”.
“Please pray with us for the families and the loved ones involved in this tragic accident,” the post continued. “We appreciate your understanding at this difficult time.”
Cannon Farms is a family-owned business that has been operational for more than 100 years, according to its website.
They now focus on peanuts and watermelons, which they supply to grocery stores across the US and Canada.
The vehicle transporting the workers was a 2010 International Bus and the pickup truck was a 2001 Ford Ranger, authorities said.
US
Donald Trump ‘not thinking about Melania’ when he paid off Stormy Daniels, says ex-lawyer Michael Cohen
Donald Trump “wasn’t thinking about (his wife) Melania” when he paid off a former porn star, his former lawyer has testified.
Michael Cohen told a court Mr Trump personally approved $130,000 in hush money to Stormy Daniels over an alleged 2006 sexual encounter.
The payout isn’t illegal, but Mr Trump is accused of falsifying records to hide it – a claim he denies.
On Monday, his trial in New York heard from Mr Cohen, once a lawyer and self-described “fixer” for the ex-president.
Mr Trump’s lawyers have painted the hush money as an attempt to protect his wife from rumours and upset.
Michael Cohen has himself been jailed over the payment to Daniels. Pic: Reuters
However, Mr Cohen said his boss was purely concerned with keeping the claims quiet as he ran for the presidency.
“He wasn’t thinking about Melania. This was all about the campaign,” he said, prompting Mr Trump to shake his head in response.
Mr Cohen told the court he’d heard Stormy Daniels was considering selling her story and he told his boss swift action was required.
Mr Trump denies the affair and his lawyers say Mr Cohen acted on his own – a claim he denied in court.
He told jurors in Manhattan that “everything required Mr Trump’s sign-off” and he was ordered to “just do it”.
Mr Cohen said he stumped up the $130,000 himself after Mr Trump told him he would pay him back.
He said he set up a shell company – listed as a “real estate consulting company” – to make the payment.
Stormy Daniels, pictured in January. Pic: AP
Prosecutors say Mr Trump later paid the money back and covered it up by recording it as a legal retainer fee.
He faces 34 counts of falsifying business records over the claims.
Read more:
Porn stars, sex scandals and zzzs: A to Z of Trump trial
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Hear Trump and his lawyer discuss hush money
The court also heard a recording of a conversation between Mr Trump and Mr Cohen over hush money said to have been paid to another woman, former Playboy model Karen McDougal, who he also allegedly had an affair with.
Mr Cohen suggests in the recording setting up another company to repay David Pecker – who said he provided the $150,000 to cover up the story.
The former National Enquirer boss previously testified he bought the story to keep it hidden and eventually decided against seeking reimbursement.
Later in the recording, Mr Trump can be heard suggesting the $150,000 might be better off being paid in cash.
Mr Cohen told the court this was to “avoid any type of paper transaction”.
The 57-year-old – who once said he would take a bullet for Mr Trump – worked for him for nearly a decade.
Stormy Daniels, pictured in January. Pic: AP
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He pleaded guilty to violating campaign finance law in 2018 over the Stormy Daniels payment and was jailed, but at the time prosecutors did not bring charges against Mr Trump.
Mr Cohen’s credibility is in the sights of defence lawyers as he has previously admitted lying under oath.
Mr Trump – who will take on Joe Biden in his bid to become president again in November – is unlikely to face a custodial sentence if found guilty.
His other cases are potentially more damaging but mired in delays.
They concern allegations of keeping stacks of secret documents after leaving office and trying to overturn his 2020 election defeat. He denies the claims.
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