A Michigan judge gave Donald Trump a partial win Tuesday over activists who say the former president’s role in the Capitol riots amounts to “insurrection” and should be enough to bar him from having his name on the state’s 2024 primary ballot.
Judge James Robert Redford of the Michigan Court of Claims said the issue is a political question and not one for the courts.
“The question of whether Donald J. Trump is precluded from holding office under Section 3 of the Fourteenth Amendment is a political question that is non-justiciable at this present time,” the judge wrote.
The judge’s action comes after two lawsuits filed by activists looking to keep the former president off the ballot and one from Mr. Trump himself, who filed a suit against Secretary of State Jocelyn Benson earlier this month claiming the Michigan Democrat had refused to reply to requests for his name to appear on the state’s GOP ballot.
On Monday, Ms. Benson released the list of Republican candidates who will be on the 2024 Michigan Primary ballot, including Mr. Trump, Doug Burgum, Chris Christie, Ron DeSantis, Nikki Haley, Asa Hutchinson and Vivek Ramaswamy.
Judge Redford refrained from making any orders related to the 2024 general ballot, though.
He heard hours of oral arguments related to the insurrection clause challenges last week in the three separate suits.
It is the second time this month that a court has refused to keep Mr. Trump’s name off the primary ballots in a loss for liberal advocates looking to prevent the former president from reentering the White House.
The Minnesota Supreme Court dismissed a case on Nov. 8 in an order reasoning that it couldn’t prevent the state party from putting his name on their ballot. It left the general election issue to be decided at a later date, noting advocates can renew their challenge.
Colorado also has a case pending on the same matter, with reports suggesting a decision could come by the end of the month.
Though Mr. Trump is facing several indictments, he has not been charged or convicted of leading an insurrection during the attack on the U.S. Capitol by Trump supporters on Jan. 6, 2021.
Those hoping to remove Mr. Trump from state ballots point to Section 3 of the 14th Amendment, which reads: “No person shall be a Senator or Representative in Congress, or elector of President and Vice-President, or hold any office, civil or military, under the United States, or under any State, who, having previously taken an oath, as a member of Congress, or as an officer of the United States, or as a member of any State legislature, or as an executive or judicial officer of any State, to support the Constitution of the United States, shall have engaged in insurrection or rebellion against the same, or given aid or comfort to the enemies thereof.”
The provision was written into the 14th Amendment with the Civil War in mind, but the former president’s opponents say it should apply to his attempts to stop certification of President Biden’s victory.
• Alex Swoyer can be reached at aswoyer@washingtontimes.com.
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