A legal effort to use the Constitution's "insurrection" clause to block former President Donald Trump from running for office in 2024 is becoming a more serious threat as hearings begin in two states over cases that could reach the highest court.
A weeklong hearing begins in Colorado on Monday over a lawsuit that cites the Civil War-era provision of the 14th Amendment that blocks those who swore an oath to uphold the Constitution and later "engaged in insurrection" from holding higher office. Oral arguments over a similar question also start at the Minnesota Supreme Court on Thursday.
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The lawsuit in Colorado was filed in early September with the backing of a liberal watchdog group called Citizens for Responsibility and Ethics in Washington, which is representing six Republican and unaffiliated Colorado voters. The practical outcome for the challengers is to see that Trump stays off the November 2024 presidential election ballot in both states.
In a series of pretrial victories for the challengers, Trump lost his bid to dismiss the case in Colorado. He is not expected to attend the hearing and denies wrongdoing concerning the Jan. 6, 2021, riot at the U.S. Capitol, which the lawsuit alleges he instigated and thereby represents his alleged violation of Section 3 of the 14th Amendment.
Trump's campaign has said the lawsuits in Colorado and Minnesota are "absurd" and that they are "stretching the law beyond recognition."
The case raises an untested legal question, so much so that even if the plaintiffs prevail, the final say would likely come down to the Supreme Court, which is led by a 6-3 Republican-appointed majority that includes three appointees of the former president.
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In the backdrop, Trump is already facing mounting pressure in the courts due to his four criminal indictments as he seeks to challenge President Joe Biden next year by maintaining his edge above the other Republican candidates in the primary race.
Trump has pleaded not guilty to four criminal indictments, including alleged attempts to overturn the 2020 election results and the mishandling of classified documents after he left the Oval Office in January 2021.