Donald Trump cases thrust US Supreme Court into 2024 election fray
- A bombshell ruling removing the ex-US president from Colorado’s state ballot is likely to end up before the top court, taking it into ‘uncharted territory’
- The justices have also been asked to decide if Trump has immunity from prosecution for alleged crimes committed while in office
The US Supreme Court played a critical role in deciding the 2000 presidential election when it halted a vote recount in Florida with Republican George W. Bush holding a razor-thin edge over Democrat Al Gore.
The stage is set for the nation’s highest court to figure prominently again in a White House race as it mulls a pair of cases involving Donald Trump, the front runner for the 2024 Republican presidential nomination.
The Colorado Supreme Court ruled on Tuesday that the former president had incited an insurrection – the January 6, 2021 attack on the US Capitol by his supporters – and was therefore ineligible to hold the office again.
The ruling is likely to end up in the Supreme Court, which is already considering whether to examine a claim by Trump’s lawyers that he has “absolute immunity” from prosecution for actions taken while he was in the White House.
02:18
US former president Donald Trump pleads not guilty to 2020 election charges
The 77-year-old Trump is currently scheduled to go on trial in Washington in March on charges of conspiring to overturn the results of the 2020 election won by Democrat Joe Biden.