Trump lawyers warn Supreme Court of ‘chaos and bedlam’ if states are allowed to bar him from 2024 ballot

(CNN) — Former President Donald Trump is urging the US Supreme Court to reverse the Colorado Supreme Court’s ruling that removed him from that state’s ballot.

Posted 10:28 p.m. Jan 18 — Updated 10:38 p.m. Jan 18

Devan Cole

, CNN

CNN — (CNN) — Former President Donald Trump is urging the US Supreme Court to reverse the Colorado Supreme Court’s ruling that removed him from that state’s ballot.

The brief submitted by Trump’s attorneys Thursday to the high court sets out their arguments for why the state court erred when it issued the unprecedented decision last month.

“The Court should reverse the Colorado decision because President Trump is not even subject to section 3, as the President is not an ‘officer of the United States’ under the Constitution. And even if President Trump were subject to section 3 he did not ‘engage in’ anything that qualifies as ‘insurrection,’” Trump’s attorneys argued.

The efforts, Trump team argues, “promise to unleash chaos and bedlam if other state courts and state officials follow Colorado’s lead and exclude the likely Republican presidential nominee from their ballots.”

The Colorado Supreme Court last month said Trump is constitutionally ineligible to run in 2024 because the 14th Amendment’s ban on insurrectionists holding office covers his conduct on January 6, 2021.

The US Supreme Court agreed earlier this month to hear the case, accepting an appeal brought by Trump. The justices are separately involved in other matters that could impact the federal criminal case against the former president.

The US Supreme Court will hear oral arguments in the Colorado case on February 8.

This story has been updated with additional details.

Suggest A Correction