BREAKING: California Seeking 'Every Legal Option' To Remove Trump From Ballot To Protect The 'Pillars Of Democracy'

On Wednesday, California Lieutenant Governor Eleni Kounalakis (D-CA) sent a letter to California Secretary of State Shirley Weber (D-CA) to "explore every legal option to remove former President Donald Trump from California's 2024 presidential primary ballot." The letter comes a day after the Colorado Supreme Court ruled that Trump cannot appear on the state's primary ballot next year.

"Based on the Colorado Supreme Court's ruling in Anderson v. Griswold (2023 CO 63), I urge you to explore every legal option to remove President Donald Trump from California's 2024 presidential primary ballot," Lt. Gov. Kounalakis wrote. "I am prompted by the Colorado Supreme Court's recent ruling that former President Donald Trump is ineligible to appear on the state's ballot as a Presidential Candidate due to his role in inciting an insurrection in the U.S. Capitol on January 6, 2021. This decision is about honoring the rule of law in our country and protecting the fundamental pillars of democracy."

"California must stand on the right side of history," she continued. "California is obligated to determine if Trump is ineligible for the California ballot for the same reasons described in Anderson. The Colorado decision can be the basis for a similar decision here in our state. The constitution is clear: you must be 40 years old and not be an insurrectionist." The minimum age to be president is not 40, as Kounalakis claims, but 35.

The Colorado Supreme Court, in a 4-3 decision, ruled that President Trump could not appear on the primary ballot in the state given that they determined that he attempted an "insurrection" against the United States via the comments he made prior to the January 6 Capitol Riot.

The court made its decision by invoking Section 3 of the 14th Amendment, which states the following:

"No person shall be a Senator or Representative in Congress, or elector of President and Vice-President, or hold any office, civil or military, under the United States, or under any State, who, having previously taken an oath, as a member of Congress, or as an officer of the United States, or as a member of any State legislature, or as an executive or judicial officer of any State, to support the Constitution of the United States, shall have engaged in insurrection or rebellion against the same, or given aid or comfort to the enemies thereof. But Congress may, by a vote of two-thirds of each House, remove such disability."

While the Democrat-appointed, Ivy League-educated judges ruled that Trump falls under this section, a number of more conservative legal scholars disagree with that assessment and argue that such a clause does not apply to the president of the United States, not to mention that many regard Trump's actions as not fulfilling the requirements of an insurrection. Despite these arguments, the Colorado Supreme Court proceeded by ordering Trump's removal from the ballot by January 4. However, Trump's legal team is expected to appeal the decision to the Supreme Court.

"President Trump did not merely incite the insurrection," the state supreme court's opinion reads. "Even when the siege on the Capitol was fully underway, he continued to support it by repeatedly demanding that Vice President (Mike) Pence refuse to perform his constitutional duty and by calling Senators to persuade them to stop the counting of electoral votes. These actions constituted overt, voluntary, and direct participation in the insurrection."

"We conclude that the foregoing evidence, the great bulk of which was undisputed at trial, established that President Trump engaged in insurrection," the opinion continued. "President Trump's direct and express efforts, over several months, exhorting his supporters to march to the Capitol to prevent what he falsely characterized as an alleged fraud on the people of this country were indisputably overt and voluntary."

In response to the decision, Trump campaign spokesman Steven Cheung said in a statement, "Unsurprisingly, the all-Democrat appointed Colorado Supreme Court has ruled against President Trump... Democrat Party leaders are in a state of paranoia over the growing, dominant lead President Trump has amassed in the polls. They have lost faith in the failed Biden presidency and are now doing everything they can to stop the American voters from throwing them out of office next November," Chueng said. "The Colorado Supreme Court issued a completely flawed decision tonight, and we will swiftly file an appeal to the United States Supreme Court and a concurrent request for a stay of this deeply undemocratic decision. We have full confidence that the U.S. Supreme Court will quickly rule in our favor and finally put an end to these un-American lawsuits."

Read the full letter sent to the California secretary of state below:

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