Earlier this year, a group of Colorado voters and Citizens for Responsibility and Ethics in Washington (CREW) filed a lawsuit in Colorado to keep TFG off the ballot under Section 3 of the Fourteenth Amendment known as the Disqualification Clause. On Monday, a historic five-day evidentiary hearing began to keep the Orange Ass off the ballot because of his role in the attack on the US Capitol on January 6, 2021. This Thursday, a similar hearing will begin in St. Paul, Minnesota.
CREW President Noah Bookbinder has said that his organization brought its suit in Colorado because “it is necessary to defend our republic both today and in the future.” The group’s complaint accuses Trump of inciting and aiding the mob at the Capitol two years ago, which he denies. He was impeached on similar charges but acquitted by Republicans in the Senate.
Trump and his campaign have dismissed the 14th Amendment clause being used against him. “The people who are pursuing this absurd conspiracy theory and political attack on President Trump are stretching the law beyond recognition,” a spokesperson previously said in a statement.
During Monday’s hearing, Representative Rep. Eric Swalwell (D-CA) described the events in detail about the violence, disruption and fear amongst members of both parties caused by the mob summoned by Trump when they broke into the Capitol. He also testified about Trump’s refusal to post anything on social media during the worst of the violence to call it off.
While Swalwell was testifying, the Trump campaign and Senior Advisor Jason Miller both began posting a series of smears of Swalwell on social media with old stories, featuring the episode where he had a brief relationship with a woman who was working as an operative for the Chinese government. Swalwell self-reported the incident and was cleared of all wrongdoing since he was unaware of her true background.
