On Wednesday, Cook County Circuit Judge Tracie Porter ruled that Donald Trump is barred from appearing on the ballot for next month’s Illinois Republican primary thanks to the “insurrection clause” contained within the Constitution’s 14th Amendment.
This states no person shall “hold any office, civil or military” who having taken an oath to “support the Constitution,” then engaged in “insurrection or rebellion.” Trump’s critics argue his attempt to overturn the 2020 presidential election result, during which hundreds of his supporters stormed Congress on January 6, 2021, constituted a rebellion, making him constitutionally ineligible to serve as president again.
Porter’s ruling doesn’t take effect until Friday to give Trump’s legal team time to appeal. Trump has consistently rejected the argument he is ineligible to serve again as president under the 14th Amendment and has suggested it is politically motivated. The former president has already been removed from primary ballots in Colorado and Maine, but both decisions are being appealed.
On February 8, the Supreme Court held two hours of oral argument over whether Trump is eligible to appear on the Colorado ballot, during which a number of judges raised pointed concerns over the impact excluding the former president, and 2024 Republican frontrunner, would have on American democracy.
Porter, a Democrat, joined the Cook County Circuit Court for Illinois in November 2021 and in November 2022, won an election to retain the post. Her current term in office is due to expire in December 2028.
Read more at Newsweek.com
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