North Dakota, Montana attorney generals fighting against cases barring Donald Trump from election ballot – KFYR
BISMARCK, N.D. (KFYR) – Nineteen attorney generals, including Montana’s Austin Knudsen and North Dakota’s Drew Wrigley, filed a brief this week asking the Colorado Supreme Court to keep former president Donald Trump on the state’s 2024 primary ballot.
A lawsuit filed in state court last month argued Trump’s actions during the January 6 insurrection were a violation of the 14th Amendment and should prevent him from being on the ballot. A Colorado District judge ruled against it and it is being appealed by the state Supreme Court.
The attorney generals argue only Congress has the right to decide whether a presidential candidate is in violation of the 14th Amendment.
“Recall that Congress has authority to remove a president from office… Congress vigorously applied these powers to President Trump, as the House impeached him twice. But the Senate acquitted him both times, even when political opponents accused him of fomenting insurrection… Congress, then, has rendered its judgment — and it disagrees with petitioners’ view that former President Trump engaged in insurrection,” the brief states.
The other states involved with the brief include Alabama, Alaska, Indiana, Iowa, Kentucky, Louisiana, Mississippi, Missouri, Nebraska, Oklahoma, South Carolina, South Dakota, Tennessee, Texas, Utah, West Virginia and Wyoming.
Similar lawsuits have been attempted in Minnesota and Michigan, but have been defeated.
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