Former President Donald Trump’s appeal of a Colorado ruling barring him from the ballot may force the U.S. Supreme Court to weigh in directly on his 2024 election prospects, a case that legal experts said will likely pull its nine justices into a political firestorm.
That state was the first, followed by Maine, to rule that Trump was disqualified from seeking the Republican presidential nomination due to his actions ahead of the Jan. 6, 2021, attack on the U.S. Capitol, an unprecedented legal decision that the nation’s top court could find too pressing to avoid.
“I doubt that any of the justices are pleased that they’re being forced into the fray over Donald Trump’s future. But it seems to me that the court will have no choice but to face these momentous issues,” said attorney Deepak Gupta, who has argued cases before the Supreme Court.
The justices, Gupta said, will have to act with “unusual speed and, hopefully, in a way that does not further divide our deeply divided land. That is a daunting and unenviable task.”
Gorsuch ruled on the case that the Colorado Supreme Court cited as precedence for their decision. He might recuse himself rather than attempt to reverse his own decision.
The Conservatives can still rule 5-3 in Trump’s favor, though.
Republicans aren’t above hypocrisy. He’ll make up some stupid excuse about how this case is different somehow. Maybe he’ll say that Trump isn’t an insurrectionist because he wasn’t successful, or maybe he’ll blame it on the phase of the moon, who the fuck knows
Republicans embrace hypocrisy. It’s the defining feature of conservativism.
While you’re probably right, the difference is that Gorsuch would give ammo to his enemies by reversing his own decision when he doesn’t need to in order for his team to win. IF he recuses himself, it is because he knows the other conservative justices will find for Trump.