CNN Senior Legal Analyst Says Trump Only Has To Do One Thing To End Up On CO Primary Ballot

CNN’s senior legal analyst Elie Honig said former President Donald Trump only has to appeal the Colorado Supreme Court ruling to end up on the primary ballot.

The Colorado Supreme Court ruled 4-3 that Trump violated the 14th Amendment’s “insurrection ban” and is ineligible to be on the ballot. The ruling is on hold pending an appeal to the Supreme Court until Jan. 4.

“What about the 14th Amendment?” CNN’s Poppy Harlow asked. “[Trump] said he’s going to appeal what the Supreme Court decided that he can’t be on the ballot. When and how long will that take?”

“Again, the calendar is key here, the Colorado Supreme Court ruled by a 4-3 ruling that he engaged in insurrection, he’s disqualified from the ballot, next stop almost certainly will be the U.S. Supreme Court. Trump hasn’t formally filed yet. Now let’s look at the calendar here. This ruling by the Colorado Supreme Court, they put it on hold, a stay as we would call it, until January 4 and that’s a crucial date because the next day, January 5, is when Colorado prints up its primary ballots meaning as long as Trump goes to the Supreme Court, he doesn’t have to win, but goes to the Supreme Court, everything’s on hold, Trump will be on the ballot if he goes to the Supreme Court for the primary. But then the Supreme Court’s gonna have to decide the bigger issue which will be for the general itself.” (RELATED: MSNBC Analyst Claims Union Soldiers Died So Candidates Like Trump Could Be Kept Off Ballot)

Honig also said Trump likely has yet to appeal the Colorado ruling simply because he is waiting until the “last possible moment.”

Colorado Supreme Court Justice Carlos Samour, who was appointed by a Democrat, dissented in the case.

“The decision to bar former President Donald J. Trump – by all accounts the current leading Republican presidential candidate (and reportedly the current leading overall presidential candidate) – from Colorado’s presidential primary ballot flies in the face of the due process doctrine,” Samour said.

Samour argues Congress passed a law in 1870 allowing for both civil and criminal enforcement of Section 3, though the law was repealed and replaced in 1948. The new law, 18 U.S.C § 2383, says an individual can be banned from holding office if they are charged and convicted under the law. Trump has not been charged under said statute, as pointed out by Samour.