A Denver judge rejected a lawsuit challenging Donald Trump’s eligibility to be on the ballot in Colorado’s presidential primary and general election, with the challengers claiming he was ineligible due to his support for an insurrection in violation of his oath of office. Colorado District Judge Sarah Wallace determined the President of the United States is not a qualified “officer” covered by the Amendment, but that Trump had, in fact, engaged in insurrection against the United States.
According to CNN, the judge found that the insurrection clause of the 14th Amendment does not apply to presidents, but it does apply to other elected officials–which the Amendment refers to as “officers” of the United States.
“After considering the arguments on both sides, the Court is persuaded that ‘officers of the United States,’ did not include the President of the United States,” Wallace wrote. “It appears to the Court that for whatever reason the drafters of Section Three did not intend to include a person who had only taken the Presidential Oath.”