A Michigan appeals court ruled on Thursday that former President Donald Trump can remain on the state's Republican presidential primary ballot. Photo by Alex Wroblewski/UPI |
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Dec. 15 (UPI) -- A Michigan appeals court ruled that former President Donald Trump can remain on the state's Republican presidential primary ballot amid efforts to disqualify him over his actions surrounding the Jan. 6, 2021, riots at the U.S. Capitol.
The three-judge panel unanimously ruled that the challenge, seeking to disqualify Trump based on the post-Civil War clause in the 14th Amendment that says no one can hold office if they have previously taken an oath to support the Constitution but "engaged in insurrection or rebellion" was not yet "ripe."
"At the moment, the only event about to occur is the presidential primary election. But as explained, whether Trump is disqualified is irrelevant to his placement on that particular ballot," the court wrote in its opinion. "Thus, with respect to the presidential primary election, there is no actual controversy, as the only purported basis for removing Trump from the presidential primary ballot would not be a sufficient basis for removal of Trump's name from that ballot."
The court, however, did not rule specifically on whether Trump should be disqualified under the 14th Amendment.
"As the Court of Claims recognized, it would be improper to decide whether to grant a declaration that Trump is disqualified from holding the office of President of the United States at this time," the court said in its ruling.
Trump campaign spokesperson Steven Cheung called the challenge to the ex-president's eligibility "frivolous."
"With the Michigan Court of Appeals' affirmation of the Trump campaign's victories in the lower court, the Soros-funded Democrats have once again failed in their desperate attempt to interfere in the election via a bad-faith interpretation of the 14th Amendment. President Trump remains undefeated against these frivolous legal claims and has never been in a stronger position to win next year's election," Cheung said.
Last month, a Colorado district court judge and the Minnesota Supreme Court turned back similar challenges to keep Trump off the ballot because of the 14th Amendment.
