Trump appeals Illinois judge's ruling to remove him from ballot in March 19 primary
CHICAGO (CBS) -- Former President Donald Trump on Thursday appealed a Cook County judge's ruling to remove him from the Illinois primary ballot over his role in the attack on the U.S. Capitol on Jan. 6, 2021.
Trump's attorneys asked the Illinois Appellate Court to overturn Judge Tracie Porter's ruling that he be kicked off Republican primary ballots in the state.
Porter had ruled the Illinois State Board of Elections was "clearly erroneous" in January when it allowed Trump to stay on the state's ballot.
The judge ruled that when Trump filed statement of candidacy for the Illinois Republican primary on Jan. 4, he "falsely swore" that he was "legally qualified" to run for president again, because the Colorado Supreme Court had already ruled that he "had been found to engage in insurection" in a similar challenge to Trump's eligibility to run for another term.
The Illinois primary is on March 19, and early voting was already underway in Illinois. Trump's name remains on ballots for now, and Poter had put her ruling on hold until Friday, expecting Trump's campaign to appeal her ruling.
The judge also had said her ruling would remain on hold if the U.S. Supreme Court should issue a ruling "inconsistent" with hers in the case in Colorado, where that state's highest court also has ruled Trump is disqualified from holding the presidency again, because of his conduct on Jan. 6.
Trump's campaign is now seeking to have Porter's decision stayed "until the appeal is fully and finally resolved by the Illinois Appellate Court, First District, the Illinois Supreme Court, and/or the U.S. Supreme Court."
Illinois is one of several states considering whether Trump is disqualified from another term as president due to his role in the riot at the U.S. Capitol on Jan. 6, 2021, and whether his actions that day are considered an act of insurrection.
The case hinges on Section 3 of the 14th Amendment, which prohibits officials who have sworn an oath to uphold the Constitution from holding government office if they engage in insurrection.
That provision was enacted in 1868 to bar former Confederates from holding federal government offices, but had largely gone unenforced for the past 150 years, and had never before been used to disqualify a candidate from running for president until the Colorado Supreme Court ruled against Trump in December.
Earlier this month, most U.S. Supreme Court heard arguments in the Colorado case, and most justices seemed skeptical of the idea that Colorado or any other state could disqualify Trump from appearing on primary election ballots.
The nation's highest court is expected to make a decision on the matter soon. If justices rule in Trump's favor, most of the efforts to keep him off ballots in multiple states - including Illinois, Colorado, and Maine - likely would be tossed out.
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