Donald Trump May Have New Ammunition for Supreme Court Fight

Former President Donald Trump may have new ammunition for a U.S. Supreme Court battle with the latest ruling on his eligibility to run for the White House.

The Michigan Supreme Court declined to hear a case contesting Trump's candidacy on Wednesday, effectively keeping him on the state's 2024 presidential primary ballot. The court's decision was in line with a lower court ruling in state that also said Trump should be allowed to appear on the ballot, but it differs from last week's ruling by the Colorado Supreme Court in a similar case that is expected to make its way to the U.S. Supreme Court.

On Thursday, the Colorado Supreme Court found that Trump is disqualified from holding the presidency under Section 3 of the Constitution's 14th Amendment and barred him from appearing on the state's primary ballot. The clause states that no person shall hold any office if they have previously taken an oath and "engaged in insurrection or rebellion." The "insurrection" in question is Trump's actions leading up to the January 6, 2021, riot at the U.S. Capitol.

Former federal prosecutor Neama Rahmani told Newsweek that the U.S. Supreme Court is likely to accept an appeal of the Colorado decision, and that if it does, "Trump will likely use the Michigan argument as one of the reasons the Colorado case was wrongly decided."

Rahmani noted that the Michigan decision won't have any standing to act as precedent but acknowledged that Trump could point to it as evidence that "the 14th Amendment only prevents candidates from actually holding office, not appearing on the primary ballot."

Former federal prosecutor and elected state attorney Michael McAuliffe agreed that the question of Trump's candidacy should be heard by the U.S. Supreme Court, and added that the different outcomes in Michigan and Colorado only "underscore the need for the U.S. Supreme Court to address the scope of the Constitution's prohibition soon rather than wait until all, or most, of the state court challenges are decided."

"Either Trump is on the presidential ballots in the general election or he isn't based on one binding set of constitutional criteria," McAuliffe told Newsweek. "Only the U.S. Supreme Court can provide that determination."

Unlike the Colorado case, the Michigan case was notably dismissed wholly on procedural grounds, meaning they never reached the insurrection question of whether or not Trump's actions met the definition of such.

There is nothing in Michigan law that "requires someone seeking the office of President of the United States to attest to their legal qualification to hold the office," Justice Elizabeth Welch wrote Wednesday when comparing state law to Colorado law.

The door to future 14th Amendment challenges against Trump remains open should he win the Republican nomination. The Minnesota Supreme Court reached a similar conclusion to Michigan's last month, keeping Trump on the primary ballot but leaving the door open for challenges for the general election ballot.

Although Rahmani said it's likely Trump will use the Michigan decision to make his argument that he should remain on the ballot, legal scholar Randall Eliason told Newsweek it may do little to help him appeal the Colorado ruling.

"[Wednesday's ruling] is based on the particulars of Michigan law about the ballots and was not a ruling on the merits of whether Trump engaged in an insurrection. So it doesn't sound like it would help him in the Colorado case," Eliason said.

The Colorado Supreme Court stayed its decision until January 4, or until the U.S. Supreme Court weighs in. The deadline for the state to print its presidential primary ballots is January 5. Trump's attorneys have promised to appeal to the high court.

Trump is unlikely to need Colorado to win the 270 Electoral College votes for the presidency. He lost the state by 13 percentage points in the last election. But some fear that other states, specifically the ones Trump would need to win back the White House, could follow Colorado's steps and remove him from the ballot.