“It is Election Interference like never before seen in our Country. In a certain way, it is real ‘insurrection,’” said former President Donald Trump Saturday in a Truth Social post after a rollercoaster ride of a week.
While the Colorado Supreme Court ruled Tuesday that Trump would not be able to appear on Republican primary ballots in the state, the U.S. Supreme Court denied a request to fast-track arguments regarding his potential immunity from legal charges.
Trump was referring the case brought against him by Special Counsel Jack Smith related to the deadly Capitol riot in 2021 in his Truth Social post. Per the announcement of the case in August, Smith alleged that Trump conspired to defraud the U.S., to disenfranchise voters and attempted to obstruct an official proceeding.
“The attack on our nation’s capital on January 6, 2021, was an unprecedented assault on the seat of American democracy,” said Smith. “As described in the indictment, it was fueled by lies. Lies by the defendant targeted at obstructing a bedrock function of the U.S. government, the nation’s process of collecting, counting, and certifying the results of the presidential election.”
Trump has made repeated and unfounded claims of election interference regarding the 2020 election and continues to do so as he campaigns to be the GOP candidate in the 2024 election. Rioters who descended upon the Capitol in January in 2021 attempted to prevent certification of votes for President Joe Biden, who won the election, after Trump started making these claims.
That riot, which claimed five lives, has been called an “insurrection.”
In Colorado, the Supreme Court ruled that Trump would not be able to appear on the ballot due to the 14th amendment. That amendment bars anyone who swore an oath to the Constitution and then participated in an insurrection against it from holding office.
Currently, the U.S. Supreme Court has a conservative majority and three out of its nine justices were appointed by Trump. Justices rejected Smith’s request to fast track the case, and CNN said that the rejection will likely delay the trial set to begin in March.
“The court did not explain its reasoning and there were no noted dissents,” said the outlet. It also said the rejection is a major blow to Smith. Before the case can go to trial, the immunity issue must be sorted out.
CNN also reported that both Smith and Trump’s camp will have the option to appeal an eventual ruling from the D.C. Court of Appeals. Oral arguments in that court are scheduled for Jan. 9.
“If I were polling poorly, like everyone else against me is (including Crooked Joe Biden!), or, for some reason, I decided not to run, they never would have even brought this ridiculous and disgraceful lawsuit,” Trump said in his Saturday Truth Social post.
According to FiveThirtyEight figures updated Saturday, more than 62% of Republican voters were behind Trump as the 2024 GOP candidate.