A group of Republican and unaffiliated voters have teamed up with a liberal organization to argue that Trump is ineligible to hold office under the 14th Amendment's disqualification clause. His campaign counters that his role in the January 6 riot was limited to constitutionally-protected political speech.
The hearing is expected to last all week. The judge will issue her written ruling sometime afterwards, but neither side expects the suit to end here; instead it is likely to be appealed, possibly all the way up to the U.S. Supreme Court.
Monday, Oct. 30
10:08 a.m. Getting underway
As the first day of the hearing was getting started, Judge Wallace jokes about the packed courtroom: “I think we have more lawyers and police officers than anybody else.”
— Bente Birkeland, CPR News' public affairs reporter
9:45 a.m. Trump campaign speaks with reporters
The Trump campaign met with reporters outside the courtroom just before the start of the hearing. Jason Miller with the Trump campaign said Democrats have made the determination they cannot beat the former president at the ballot box, so they’re trying to do it through the courts.
“We're here with a courtroom behind us because they're trying to put up their “steal curtain’ around Colorado,” said Miller. “The Democrats are trying to steal this race. There is no other reason for us to be here. This is un-American. This is election interference. Everybody sees what's going on. We all know the reason why this is happening is because President Trump is only a couple of points behind Joe Biden here in Colorado.”
The latest polls show Biden leading Trump by a margin of 4 to 10 points in Colorado.
Miller added that Trump’s attorneys filed a motion for recusal for Judge Sarah B. Wallace on Saturday, based on her perceived politics.
“Judge Wallace just a year ago donated to the Colorado Turnout Project… a lefty group with this single goal of keeping Republicans off the ballot. How the hell do you get a fair hearing or failed trial with a judge who's donated to the Colorado Turnout Project?”
The Colorado Turnout Project’s stated goal is to elect Democrats in Colorado, with a specific focus on unseating GOP congresswoman Lauren Boebert.
However, at the start of the day’s hearing, Judge Wallace denied the motion for recusal. She didn’t dispute that she apparently made a $100 contribution to the PAC but said prior to this weekend, she wasn’t aware of the organization or its mission.
“I have no specific memory of this donation.”
— Bente Birkeland, CPR News' public affairs reporter
8:14 a.m. at the courthouse
The first day of the hearing in the 14th Amendment lawsuit against former president Trump started quietly. Most benches in the Denver District courtroom were filled with journalists, many of whom had waited close to an hour in the bitter, predawn cold to be assured a seat.
There were also plenty of lawyers, all preparing to argue a case that could shape the direction of the 2024 presidential race.
The judge said she plans to run the hearing every day this week from 8 a.m. to around 5:30 p.m., or later if they have to — although she’ll end a bit earlier tomorrow for Halloween (participants with small children will appreciate that exception.)
— Bente Birkeland, CPR News' public affairs reporter
4 a.m. Trial starts today
Journalists and political watchers are expected to pack a Denver courtroom this morning for the kickoff in a weeklong hearing over whether former president Donald Trump can appear on Colorado's Republican primary ballot next year. Groups have launched similar challenges against his candidacy in other states, arguing that his post-election actions rose to the level of 'insurrection' and should disqualify him from ever holding office again, but this case is the furthest along.
CPR public affairs reporter Bente Birkeland will be in the courtroom as the hearing gets underway and reporting back the main claims laid out by each side, as they argue a case with the potential to reshape the 2024 presidential election, and the national political landscape.
Read the full story here.
— Megan Verlee, CPR News' public affairs editor
