Rep. Eric Swalwell (D-CA) will testify in a Colorado trial seeking to disqualify former President Donald Trump from the 2024 presidential ballot, an effort that is gaining traction in multiple states.
A lawyer for Citizens for Responsibility and Ethics in Washington, which brought the case, told the Hill on Monday that Swalwell will explain "how the mob” that forcefully entered the Capitol on Jan. 6, 2021, “disrupted the core constitutional process of a peaceful transfer of power.” CREW press secretary Jenna Grande confirmed to the Washington Examiner that Swalwell would testify.
COURT CHALLENGES TO KEEP TRUMP OFF 2024 ELECTION BALLOTS BEGIN IN TWO STATES
The 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. The lawsuit was filed in early September with the backing of CREW, which is representing six Republican and unaffiliated Colorado voters.
Trump lost his bid to toss out the case in Colorado on Oct. 27 after a judge dismissed arguments from Trump's lawyers that the eligibility to appear on a ballot is up to Congress, not the courts. District Court Judge Sarah Wallace rejected these claims and will be the sole judge overseeing the bench trial that begins Monday, meaning that there will not be a jury.
The former president's attorneys had also argued to Wallace that Trump's speech on Jan. 6 was protected under the First Amendment and he did not violate the 14th Amendment because he did not participate in the riots. However, the lawsuit alleges he instigated it and thereby represents his alleged violation of Section 3 of the 14th Amendment. Trump is not expected to attend the hearing and denies wrongdoing.
"The people who are pursuing this absurd conspiracy theory and political attack on President Trump are stretching the law beyond recognition much like the political prosecutors in New York, Georgia, and DC. There is no legal basis for this effort except in the minds of those who are pushing it," Steven Cheung, spokesman for Trump, said in a previous statement to the Washington Examiner.
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A similar initiative to toss Trump off the 2024 ballot in Minnesota is heading to oral arguments in the state Supreme Court on Thursday. The challenge is also floating in states such as New Hampshire, Alaska, New Mexico, and Michigan.
The Washington Examiner reached out to Swalwell's office for comment.