The U.S. Supreme Court could rule "9-0" for President Donald Trump if he appeals the Colorado Supreme Court's ruling kicking him off the state's 2024 ballot, former White House lawyer Ty Cobb is predicting.
"I think this case will be handled quickly. I think it could be 9-0 in the Supreme Court for Trump," Cobb, who has served as a member of the Trump administration legal team, told CNN's Erin Burnett Tuesday after the ruling. "It will be a race to get there. I mean, the Supreme Court, though, will not hesitate to move quickly on this. They know what is at stake."
He also argued that the "law is clear" on the issue.
The Colorado Supreme Court ruled 4-3 Tuesday that Trump cannot appear on the state's ballot in next year's presidential primary election following the Jan. 6, 2021, attack on the U.S. Capitol, citing the 14th Amendment's "insurrection clause" in the U.S. Constitution that bars officials who have engaged in "insurrection or rebellion" from holding office.
The ruling applies only to Colorado's March 5 Republican primary, but could also affect Trump's status in the Nov. 5 general election.
"The real key issue in this case is, is Trump an officer in the United States in the context in which that term is used in Article Three of the 14th Amendment?" Cobb told CNN. "In 2010, Chief Justice [John] Roberts explained in free enterprise that people don't vote for officers of the United States."
Cobb also noted that to the extent that "the president or the vice president are included as an officer, or included within the admonitions of the Constitution, they are typically highlighted, like, in the impeachment clause, which specifically says president, vice president."
The U.S. Supreme Court can delay some of the Colorado dates "to the extent that they feel they're obligated to or have to," he said.
The Colorado high court has put the ruling on hold until Jan. 4, allowing Trump to seek an appeal from the U.S. Supreme Court. Once the appeal is sought, the former president's name will remain on the ballot until a resolution is reached.
Trump's campaign said it will "swiftly file an appeal" of "this deeply undemocratic decision" and that it has "full confidence that the U.S. Supreme Court will quickly rule in our favor and finally put an end to these un-American lawsuits."
Cobb also said Tuesday the ruling vindicates Trump's "insistence that this is a political conspiracy to interfere with the election and that … he's the target and people shouldn't tolerate that in America."
Sandy Fitzgerald ✉
Sandy Fitzgerald has more than three decades in journalism and serves as a general assignment writer for Newsmax covering news, media, and politics.
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