Colorado secretary of state says Trump has no ‘get out of jail free card’ with the Constitution

Colorado Secretary of State Jena Griswold says there’s no “get out of jail free card” for former President Donald Trump to evade scrutiny for possibly violating the Constitution.

Two courts in Colorado, including the state Supreme Court, have ruled that Mr. Trump violated the U.S. Constitution under Section 3 of the 14th Amendment due to his connection to the Jan. 6, 2021 attack on the Capitol. He has been removed from the state’s primary ballot.

“Donald Trump is trying to argue he did not incite an insurrection, while two Colorado courts at this point have determined that he did,” Ms. Griswold said on MSNBC Wednesday. “And then Trump goes on to argue that even if he did incite the insurrection, well, the Constitution doesn’t apply to him. I don’t think that’s right.”

“I don’t think there’s some ‘get out of jail’ free card for the presidency that allows Donald Trump to escape scrutiny of the laws of the land and the Constitution,” the Democratic secretary of state said.

The former president has asked the U.S. Supreme Court to step in and overturn the Colorado court’s 4-3 ruling.  Mr. Trump’s attorneys said the state court’s majority had “misinterpreted and misapplied the text of Section 3.”

Ms. Griswold said it’s “important” that the Supreme Court “acts quickly.”

“This is a big question. It’s novel. It’s unprecedented because usually we do not have president’s trying to steal the presidency,” she said. “Usually we do not have people who engage in insurrection run for president.”

She said that she filed a brief on Tuesday urging the Supreme Court to quickly decide if they will weigh in on this case.

“The American people deserve to know whether a president can engage in insurrection and then be qualified once again to hold that office,” she said.

Maine has joined Colorado in deciding that Mr. Trump engaged in insurrection and has removed him from the state’s primary ballot. Other states, like California and Michigan, have ruled that the former president can stay on the ballot.