Former President Donald Trump has faced a slew of legal challenges in his quest to regain the White House in 2024. From criminal charges for alleged election interference to civil fraud charges to actions trying to get him tossed off the ballot, Trump has been under siege.
What plays out in the long run remains to be seen, but Trump has gained small wins along the way. Despite many judges in America leaning left the president has enjoyed jurists at the federal and appeals level who have landed on his side of legal arguments.
Multiple lawsuits have been filed against Trump claiming that he should be eliminated from primary ballots leading into the 2024 presidential election. Opponents, mostly Democrats and their well-funded backers, have claimed in multiple lawsuits that the 14th Amendment should be used against Trump for his alleged participation in the Jan. 6, 2021, events at the U.S. capitol.
Opponents call Trump’s alleged participation an insurrection that he promoted. So far judges in multiple states have ruled against the plaintiffs or outright tossed the lawsuits.
On Monday Trump was handed another win, according to the Daily Caller, after a Rhode Island federal judge tossed a challenge to Trump’s eligibility for the 2024 ballot. U.S. District Court Chief Judge John J. McConnell Jr., an Obama appointee, dismissed the 14th Amendment challenge to placing Trump on the Rhode Island ballot, reported the Daily Caller.
Surprisingly, the lawsuit was filed by a little-known Republican candidate. John Anthony Castro filed the lawsuit along with several more in other states. Castro’s legal attack in Florida failed on appeal when the Supreme Court declined in October to hear his appeal in a case filed there.
Castro attempted to gain standing to file the Rhode Island lawsuit by arguing he will lose potential voter support if Trump remains a candidate. His 14th Amendment argument claims that Trump is ineligible to hold office under section 3. This section deals with restricting any official from holding office who took an oath to the Constitution and then “engaged in insurrection.”
McConnell ruled that Castro was not “a direct and current competitor” of Trump at the time of filing his complaint and did not satisfy the “injury-in fact component of the standing inquiry.”
Trump’s opponents have continued to lose on these arguments. Courts have now rejected similar ballot challenges in Colorado, New Hampshire, Minnesota and Michigan, the Daily Caller reported. Trump’s team praised the latest legal win for Trump.
“President Trump believes the American voters, not the courts, should decide who wins next year’s elections and we urge a swift dismissal of all such remaining bogus ballot challenges,” said Trump spokesman Steven Cheung in a statement.
Key Takeaways:
- Little-known Republican loses lawsuit to get Trump tossed from ballot.
- Challenger invokes the 14th Amendment and argues about “insurrection.”
- Federal judge says this latest lawsuit has no standing on the state ballot.
Source: Daily Caller
