About The times. (Gainesville, Ga.) 1972-current | View Entire Issue (March 5, 2024)
4A Tuesday, March 5, 2024 The Times, Gainesville, Georgia I gainesvilletimes.com NATION Supreme Court restores Trump to ballot BY MARK SHERMAN Associated Press Republican presidential candidate former President Donald Trump gestures at a campaign rally, March 2, in Richmond, Va. Steve Helber Associated Press WASHINGTON — The Supreme Court on Monday unani mously restored Donald Trump to 2024 presidential primary ballots, rejecting state attempts to ban the Republican former president over the Capitol riot. The justices ruled a day before the Super Tuesday primaries that states cannot invoke a post-Civil War constitutional provision to keep presidential candidates from appearing on ballots. That power resides with Congress, the court wrote in an unsigned opinion. Trump posted on his social media network shortly after the decision was released: “BIG WIN FOR AMERICA!!!” The outcome ends efforts in Colorado, Illinois, Maine and else where to kick Trump, the front-run ner for his party's nomination, off the ballot because of his attempts to undo his loss in the 2020 elec tion to Democrat Joe Biden, culmi nating in the Jan. 6,2021, attack on the Capitol. Colorado Secretary of State Jena Griswold expressed disappoint ment in the court's decision as she acknowledged that “Donald Trump is an eligible candidate on Colo rado's 2024 Presidential Primary.” Trump's case was the first at the Supreme Court dealing with a pro vision of the 14th Amendment that was adopted after the Civil War to prevent former officeholders who “engaged in insurrection” from holding office again. Colorado's Supreme Court, in a first-of-its-kind ruling, had decided that the provision, Sec tion 3, could be applied to Trump, who that court found incited the Capitol attack. No court before had applied Section 3 to a presidential candidate. The justices sidestepped the politically fraught issue of insur rection in their opinions Monday, but some Trump critics pointed to the silence on that topic as a victory of sorts because the court failed to absolve him of responsibility for the Capitol riot. The court held that states may bar candidates from state office. “But States have no power under the Constitution to enforce Section 3 with respect to federal offices, especially the Presidency,” the court wrote. While all nine justices agreed that Trump should be on the ballot, there was sharp disagreement from the three liberal members of the court and a milder disagreement from conservative Justice Amy Coney Barrett that their colleagues went too far in determining what Congress must do to disqualify someone from federal office. Justices Sonia Sotomayor, Elena Kagan and Ketanji Brown Jackson said they agreed that allowing the Colorado decision to stand could create a “chaotic state by state patchwork” but said they disagreed with the majority's finding a dis qualification for insurrection can only happen when Congress enacts legislation. “Today, the major ity goes beyond the necessities of this case to limit how Section 3 can bar an oathbreaking insurrec tionist from becoming President,” the three justices wrote in a joint opinion. It's unclear whether the ruling leaves open the possibility that Congress could refuse to certify the election of Trump or any other presidential candidate it sees as having violated Section 3. Derek Muller, a law professor at Notre Dame University, said “it seems no,” noting that the liberals complained that the majority rul ing forecloses any other ways for Congress to enforce the provision. Rick Hasen, a law professor at the University of California-Los Ange les, wrote that it's frustratingly unclear what the bounds might be on Congress. Hasen was among those urging the court to settle the issue so there wasn't the risk of Congress reject ing Trump under Section 3 when it counts electoral votes on Jan. 6, 2025. “We may well have a nasty, nasty post-election period in which Con gress tries to disqualify Trump but the Supreme Court says Congress exceeded its powers,” he wrote. Both sides had requested fast work by the court, which heard arguments less than a month ago, on Feb. 8. The justices seemed poised then to rule in Trump's favor. Trump had been kicked off the ballots in Colorado, Maine and Illi nois, but all three rulings were on hold awaiting the Supreme Court's decision. The case is the court's most direct involvement in a presiden tial election since Bush v. Gore, a decision delivered a quarter-cen tury ago that effectively handed the 2000 election to Republican George W. Bush. And it's just one of several cases involving Trump directly or that could affect his chances of becoming president again, including a case scheduled for arguments in late April about whether he can be criminally pros ecuted on election interference charges, including his role in the Captil riot. The timing of the high court's intervention has raised questions about whether Trump will be tried before the November election. The arguments in February were the first time the high court had heard a case involving Section 3. The two-sentence provision, intended to keep some Confeder ates from holding office again, says that those who violate oaths to support the Constitution are barred from various positions includ ing congressional offices or serv ing as presidential electors. But it does not specifically mention the presidency. Conservative and liberal justices questioned the case against Trump. Their main concern was whether Congress must act before states can invoke the 14th Amendment. There also were questions about whether the president is covered by the provision. The lawyers for Republican and independent voters who sued to remove Trump's name from the Colorado ballot had argued that there is ample evidence that the events of Jan. 6 constituted an insurrection and that it was incited by Trump, who had exhorted a crowd of his supporters at a rally outside the White House to “fight like hell.” They said it would be absurd to apply Section 3 to every thing but the presidency or that Trump is somehow exempt. And the provision needs no enabling legislation, they argued. Trump's lawyers mounted sev eral arguments for why the amend ment can't be used to keep him off the ballot. They contended the Jan. 6 riot wasn't an insurrection and, even if it was, Trump did not go to the Capitol or join the rioters. The wording of the amendment also excludes the presidency and can didates running for president, they said. Even if all those arguments failed, they said, Congress must pass legislation to reinvigorate Sec tion 3. The case was decided by a court that includes three justices appointed by Trump when he was president. They have consid ered many Trump-related cases in recent years, declining to embrace his bogus claims of fraud in the 2020 election and refusing to shield tax records from Congress and prosecutors in New York. The 5-4 decision in Bush v. Gore case more than 23 years ago was the last time the court was so deeply involved in presidential pol itics. Justice Clarence Thomas is the only member of the court who was on the bench then. Thomas has ignored calls by some Democratic lawmakers to step aside from the Trump case because his wife, Ginni, supported Trump's effort to overturn the 2020 election results and attended the rally that pre ceded the storming of the Capitol by Trump supporters. Associated Press writers Lind say Whitehurst and Nicholas Ric- cardi contributed to this report. Riccardi reported from Denver. White House defends Harris meeting with Israeli Cabinet official BYAAMERMADHANI ANDSEUNGMINKIM Associated Press WASHINGTON — Vice President Kamala Harris and other top Biden admin istration officials were hold ing talks on Monday with a member of Israel's wartime Cabinet who came to Wash ington in defiance of Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu. White House officials said Benny Gantz, a centrist political rival of Netanyahu, requested the meeting and the Democratic administra tion believed it was important to meet with the prominent Israeli official despite Netan yahu's objections. The meeting comes as President Joe Biden, Harris and other senior administra tion officials have become increasingly blunt about their dissatisfaction with the mounting death toll in Gaza and suffering of innocent Palestinians as the war nears the five-month mark. “We’re going to discuss a number of things in terms of the priorities that certainly we have, which includes getting a hostage deal done, getting aid in and then get ting that six-week ceasefire,” Harris told reporters before her meeting with Gantz. The U.S. on Saturday car ried out the first of what is expected to be ongoing aid- rops of humanitarian aid into Gaza. The moment is reflective of the increasingly awkward dynamics in the U.S.-Israel relationship, with the U.S. forced to fly badly needed aid past its close ally as it looks to ramp up assistance for des perate civilians in Gaza. The first airdrop occurred just days after more than 100 Pal estinians were killed as they were trying to get food from an Israel-organized convoy. The White House agreed to the meeting with Gantz even as an official from Netanyahu's national ist Likud party said Gantz did not have approval from the prime minister for his meetings in Washington. Netanyahu gave Gantz a “tough talk” about the visit — underscoring a widening crack within Israel's wartime leadership. “We have been deal ing with all members of the war Cabinet, including Mr. Gantz,” White House national security spokesman John Kirby said. “We see this as a natural outgrowth of those discussions. We're not going to turn away that sort of opportunity.” In addition to his talks with Harris, Gantz is meeting on Monday with National Secu rity Council Middle East coordinator Brett McGurk and Jake Sullivan, the White House national security adviser. Gantz was also scheduled to meet on Mon day with Senate Minority Leader Mitch McConnell. And he will meet with Secre tary of State Antony Blinken on Tuesday. Gantz just before the start of his White House meetings told a reporter with Israel's public broadcaster Kan: “There will be an open and honest conversation between two friendly and important countries and partners.” Biden is at Camp David, the presidential retreat just outside Washington, until Tuesday as he prepares to deliver the annual State of the Union address later this week. Over the weekend, Harris issued a forceful call for a temporary cease-fire deal in Gaza, which administration officials say would halt fight ing for at least six weeks, and also increased pressure on Israel not to impede the aid that workers were trying to get into the region. The White House has been advo cating for that framework deal for weeks. Israel has essentially agreed to the deal, according to a senior Biden administra tion official, and the White House has emphasized that the onus is on Hamas to come on board. ffl Apartments FOR RENT RPC Partners 2 Bedrin. Apartments Gainesville, Oakwood & Flowery Branch $ 300 Move in Special Plus Deposit 770-654-2807 NOW HIRING Off-Road Truck Drivers, Scraper Operators, and CDL Drivers/Heavy Equipment Operator Competitive pay, Great Benefits (401 k, Health Ins., Vacation) Apply in Person 1364 Candler Rd. Gainesville, Ga 30507 Monday - Friday 8am - 5pm 770-536-4731 Ext. 1 Your one stop shop, for ALT, your Home Improvement needs. To place your company’s advertisement, call us today at 706-265-3384. t (Times gainesvilletimes.com @yourservice PROFESSIONAL DIRECTORY / SERVICE GUIDE BEN FORREST & BEN FORREST WE DELIVER! PREVIOUS EXTERIOR OF HOME licensed, and insured contractors with over 60 Years combined experience. CairGkt 678-444-0032 Customer Pick-Up is also available We Accept All Major Credit Cards 1364 Candler Rd Gainesville, Ga 30507 770-534-6928 770-536-4731 Mulch • Gravel • Sand River Rock • Fill Dirt Top Soil • White Marble Red Rock & More
