With states moving to ban former President Donald Trump from appearing on ballots, a quick resolution must be reached in the Supreme Court concerning the 14th Amendment of the U.S. Constitution and how it applies to the upcoming presidential primaries, former New Jersey Superior Court Judge Andrew Napolitano told Newsmax on Friday.
"State constitutions mean different things in different states," Napolitano told Newsmax's "Wake Up America." "All of this begs for a final — and Chief Justice [John] Roberts, if you're listening — quick resolution so that we all know what the law is, and we all know how the 14th Amendment is going to be applied."
Napolitano's comments come after Maine Secretary of State Shenna Bellows, a Democrat, Thursday removed Trump from the state's presidential primary ballot, citing the Constitution's 14th Amendment Civil War-era insurrection clause.
"I was a little dumbfounded by it because this is a decision made by an appointed state official, the secretary of state, after no charges were filed, after no trial, after no hearing, after no investigation, just on the basis of which she perceived happened on Jan. 6," said Napolitano.
"Maine, Michigan, California, Colorado, all of those states … are interpreting a clause in the U.S. Constitution and each is interpreting it differently."
There is a principle of law, federal supremacy, which means that the U.S. Constitution can't have different meanings in different states, he added.
"[Bellows] does have the authority to do this," Napolitano said. "This is a defect in the system. An individual should not have this authority."
Trump is planning to appeal the Maine case, "and there will be a hearing again, just like the hearing they had in Colorado," said Napolitano. "It's time for the Supreme Court to rule on the appeal of the Colorado case and set forth the standards for any disqualification based on the 14th Amendment. My opinion is that disqualification can't happen without an allegation and a trial and proof of guilt."
The Supreme Court's next conference day will be on Jan. 5, Napolitano said, so by then it should be known which appeals cases will be heard.
"There are other things we're waiting for, not the least of which applies to former President Trump, but this one they have to rule on quickly," said Napolitano. "Ballots are usually printed in January, so I think we're going to get a very quick decision. In my opinion, Colorado will be reversed and standards will be set down."
Napolitano also commented on the call for documents concerning claims from House Republicans that President Joe Biden allegedly was involved in his son Hunter's decision not to testify in a closed-door deposition.
"It rises to the level of idiocy because Hunter Biden was there," said Napolitano. "He should have gone into the hearing, taking the oath, and invoked the Fifth Amendment. His Fifth Amendment right is profound. He's been indicted twice. He doesn't have to answer anything about anything involving the issues under those two indictments."
But if Hunter's "goofball father" told him to show up and "thumb his nose at Congress and hold a press conference outside the Capitol building is inviting a citation for contempt. …It's terrible advice, but it's not impeachable."
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