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A Colorado judge handed Donald Trump a loss just minutes into his disqualification trial Monday morning.
The former president is facing a lawsuit challenging his 2024 candidacy in the Centennial State over his alleged involvement in the January 6, 2021, riot at the U.S. Capitol.
Citizens for Responsibility and Ethics in Washington (CREW), the plaintiff in the case, is arguing Trump, by allegedly motivating Jan. 6 protesters with his election fraud claims, violated Section 3 of the 14th Amendment. It bars any individual from holding federal or state office who has "engaged in insurrection or rebellion against the same, or given aid or comfort to the enemies thereof."
Trump has not been charged with insurrection and has repeatedly denied any wrongdoing related to Jan. 6. The former president has pleaded not guilty in special counsel Jack Smith's investigation into his alleged efforts to overturn the 2020 election.
After the trial kicked off Monday, Judge Sarah Wallace quickly rejected an effort from Trump's legal team to have her recused from the case, the Associated Press reported.
Trump's attorneys had filed a motion calling for Wallace to recuse herself from the case due to an alleged $100 donation to the Colorado Turnout Project in October 2022. The PAC's website reads that it is focused on defeating Trump ally Representative Lauren Boebert and "electing Democrats across Colorado."
"The Colorado Turnout Project aims to prevent violent insurrections by addressing this problem at its source– if we vote out pariahs like Representative Boebert, we can turn CO Blue once and for all," the organization's website reads.
Wallace, appointed by Democratic Governor Jared Polis, declined to recuse herself. She said she does not remember that donation and has no preconceptions about the issues at stake.
"I will not allow this legal proceeding to turn into a circus," Wallace said as the hearing began, the AP reported.
Newsweek reached out to the Trump campaign for comment via email.
Attorney Eric Olson, who represented the plaintiffs, argued that Trump "summoned and organized" the Jan. 6 "mob" in arguments Monday. Trump attorney Scott Gessler, on the other hand, described the lawsuit as "anti-democratic."
In a September 6 press release, CREW President Noah Bookbinder said, "While it is unprecedented to bring this type of case against a former president, January 6th was an unprecedented attack that is exactly the kind of event the framers of the 14th Amendment wanted to build protections in case of. You don't break the glass unless there's an emergency."
Trump's legal team has argued the former president was exercising his First Amendment right to freedom of speech by saying the election was stolen via widespread voter fraud, a claim that has not been proven.
Colorado's case is the first of two challenges to his candidacy ahead of the 2024 election. Minnesota's Supreme Court is also set to hear oral arguments in a separate disqualification case.
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About the writer
Andrew Stanton is a Newsweek weekend reporter based in Maine. His role is reporting on U.S. politics and social issues. ... Read more