Colorado Secretary of State Jena Griswold spoke with harsh words for former President Donald Trump on Thursday after the U.S. Supreme Court’s Trump v. Anderson hearing concluded. The Democrat says she hopes the justices will now side with the Colorado Supreme Court who ruled the Republican presidential candidate should be declared ineligible from Colorado’s primary ballot for his conduct in connection with the events of January 6, 2021.
“I don’t believe that the president is a ‘get out of jail free’ card and I hope the justices hold him accountable,” Griswold told reporters outside the main entrance to the Supreme Court Building.
Griswold is relying on the decision of the high court when certifying ballots for Colorado’s upcoming primary election, but she isn’t holding back her personal opinions on the matter.
“Section 3 of the 14th Amendment is in place to protect our country from insurrectionists understanding that insurrectionists in office are a danger. It is there because insurrectionists — if elected — can dismantle democracy from (within) it,” she said. “I’m hopeful that justices will look at the facts with an open mind and make a big decision for the United States to protect our democracy from the danger of another Trump candidacy and another Trump presidency.”
Several justices during Thursday’s oral arguments seemed to suggest that Section 3 of the 14th Amendment — which bars officials who have sworn to support the Constitution from serving in government if they engage in insurrection — would not apply to states. Griswold disagrees.
“States do have the ability to regulate who is on and off their ballots, including keeping ineligible candidates off their ballots. So just like we wouldn’t put a 17 year old on our ballot for president because they’re ineligible or someone who’s not a natural born citizen, we also just put both oath-breaking insurrectionists on our ballot,” Griswold told CBS News.
Trump’s legal team is arguing that the events of Jan. 6 don’t constitute an insurrection.
