The first hearing is coming up quickly, and if it’s successful, Donald Trump could be disqualified from the ballot in the 2024 election in Minnesota.
The Minnesota Supreme Court is prepared to hear arguments that Trump engaged in insurrection or rebellion against the United States when he carried out a number of actions to stay in office after being voted out in 2020.
After losing his re-election bid, Trump and others on his behalf tried to maintain his power through actions including phone calls to election officials, an armed attack on the Capitol Building, and a scheme to send fake electoral votes to Congress for counting.
Trump insists that “almost all legal scholars” say that the Constitutional clause does not apply to his case, though in fact, even conservative Constitutional experts have agreed that it likely disqualifies him from ever holding office again.
Now lawsuits have been filed in several states to remove Trump from the ballot, and Minnesota is the first to schedule a hearing on the case.
A State Supreme Court panel will hear the arguments on November 2nd, only a few short months before the Republican caucuses and primaries begin. The Star-Tribune reported:
“The court’s latest order notes the need for speed. Minnesota has a presidential nominating primary on March 5, 2024, for parties to determine major party candidates. The names for the ballot must be submitted to Simon’s office no later than 63 days before the primary, a deadline of Jan. 2. Absentee voting begins Jan. 19.”
The Minnesota Republican Party is joining the case on behalf of Trump, with GOP Chairman David Hann arguing that the removal of Trump based on the Fourteenth Amendment’s insurrection clause is a “fringe legal theory.”
It’s expected that, regardless of the initial results in Minnesota and other states, decisions will be appealed to the Supreme Court of the United States, where justices will ultimately make the decision. Though Trump packed the court with right-wing justices, and it’s currently held by a conservative majority, his own appointees have decided against him before, including in cases stemming from the 2020 election.
