Donald Trump Victory As Judge Dismisses Case To Keep Him off Ballot

Donald Trump scored a small victory after a judge in California confirmed a lawsuit to keep him off the Republican primary ballot was to be dismissed.

District Judge David O. Carter granted the motion to dismiss the case with prejudice on Wednesday, meaning it cannot be brought before the court again. The ruling stated that the "Negligent Infliction of Emotional Distress" claim was outside the "2-year statute of limitations."

The plaintiff who brought the suit said they had suffered "severe emotional stress" because of Trump in January 2021, the same month rioters stormed the Capitol in Washington D.C.

The decision by Carter was posted to X, formerly Twitter, by Harmeet K. Dhillon, founder of Dhillon Law and a national committeewoman of the Republican National Committee for California. Attached to the tweet were apparent images of the court documents covering the ruling. Newsweek has contacted Dhillon via X for comment..

Previously, California Secretary of State Shirley Weber included the former president on the primary list and certified him alongside rivals Florida Gov. Ron DeSantis and Nikki Haley, the former South Carolina governor.

Democrat Weber had already decided Trump was eligible to be included, despite pressure from Lieutenant Gov. Eleni Kounalakis.

"I urge you to explore every legal option to remove former President Donald Trump from California's 2024 presidential primary ballot," Kounalakis said on December 20. "The constitution is clear: you must be 35 years old and not be an insurrectionist."

Kounalakis was referring to Section 3 of the 14th Amendment.

In her response to Kounalakis on December 22, Weber said the 14th Amendment was not something her "office takes lightly and is not as simple as the requirement that a person be at least 35 years old to be president."

California Gov. Gavin Newsom said Trump is a "threat to our liberties and even to our democracy," according to a Politico report in December 2023.

"In California, we defeat candidates at the polls," he said. "Everything else is a political distraction."

Section 3 says that no person can enter Congress, become an elector "or hold any office, civil or military" who engaged in insurrection.

Lawsuits to keep Trump off the ballot are pending in a number of states. The 45th president has already been declared ineligible by Maine's top election official and the Colorado Supreme Court.

Trump has appealed to the U.S. Supreme Court, setting up what is will be a landmark decision. The all-Democrat Colorado Supreme Court ruled Trump ineligible in a 4-3 decision after a suit was brought claiming the 14th amendment barred him from the presidency.

Before the appeal, Steven Cheung, spokesman for Trump's campaign, said: "Unsurprisingly, the all-Democrat appointed Colorado Supreme Court has ruled against President Trump, supporting a Soros-funded, left-wing group's scheme to interfere in an election on behalf of Crooked Joe Biden by removing President Trump's name from the ballot and eliminating the rights of Colorado voters to vote for the candidate of their choice."

Cheung has since said the Trump camp urges "a clear, summary rejection of the Colorado Supreme Court's wrongful ruling," the BBC reported.

Newsweek has approached Trump's representatives for comment.