WASHINGTON, DC – Following today’s decision in the District Court for the City and County of Denver, Colorado, in Anderson v. Griswold, a case in which the Court considered whether Donald Trump should be allowed to appear as a candidate on the Colorado Republican Party Presidential Primary Preference ballot due to his disqualification from office under Section Three of the Fourteenth Amendment, Constitutional Accountability Center Vice President Praveen Fernandes issued the following reaction:

Today’s decision that Section Three of the Fourteenth Amendment does not apply to Donald Trump is both deeply disappointing and profoundly wrong.  The Court’s conclusion that Section Three does not apply to presidents and the presidency is at odds with the text and history of the Fourteenth Amendment.  Prominent legal scholars across the ideological spectrum, including conservative luminaries such as Professors William Baude and Michael Stokes Paulsen, have concluded that the president is an officer of the United States and the presidency is an office of the United States for purposes of this constitutional provision.  And with good reason: it strains credulity to think that the Framers of Section Three would be worried about the dangers to democracy posed by an insurrectionist postmaster, but not an insurrectionist president.  While the Court did not permit amicus filings at this stage, the Constitutional Accountability Center looks forward to the opportunity to file an amicus brief on this issue on appeal.

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Constitutional Accountability Center is a nonpartisan think tank and public interest law firm dedicated to fulfilling the progressive promise of the Constitution’s text, history, and values. Visit CAC’s website at www.theusconstitution.org.

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Resources:

Amicus briefs filed on the “officer/office” issue:

Growe v. Simon (MN): https://www.theusconstitution.org/litigation/growe-v-simon/

LaBrant v. Benson (MI): https://www.theusconstitution.org/litigation/labrant-v-benson/