'Like an investor who spreads his bets': Lawyer aiming to get Trump off Michigan ballot lays out next steps
One week after Colorado Supreme Court decided to disqualify Donald Trump from the 2024 Republican primary ballot under the 14th Amendment, the Michigan Supreme Court opted not to do the same Wednesday.
According to The Guardian, "The Michigan supreme court justices did not give a reasoning for their decision," writing, "We are not persuaded that the questions presented should be reviewed by this court."
In response to the court's ruling, Ron Fein, who serves as legal director for Free Speech for the People — the group that filed the lawsuit in Michigan — told The Guardian, "We are disappointed by the Michigan supreme court's decision. The decision isn't binding on any court outside Michigan and we continue our current and planned legal actions in other states to enforce Section 3 of the Fourteenth Amendment against Donald Trump."
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Fein also spoke with MSNBC's The ReidOut guest host Jason Johnson Wednesday to discuss what the Michigan high court's decision really means and what he and his colleagues at Free Speech for the People plan to do next.
"So your organization has filed, not just in Michigan, but you have filed to get some pro-insurrection congressional candidates off the ballot, including [US Representative] Marjorie Taylor Greene (R-GA)," Johnson said. "You haven't been successful yet. Do you think this is a shot across the bough? Do you think this may be a chilling effect on insurrectionists? What do you think is the impact of trying and losing thus far in your attempts to knock insurrectionists off the ballot?"
Fein replied, "Let me be clear about what the Michigan court just did the other day. It did not say that Donald Trump didn't engage an insurrection. It did not say that the 14th amendment doesn't apply to him. It did not say that Michigan or other states can't decide whether he is disqualified under the 14th amendment. All the Michigan court said was that we need to re-file that challenge after the primary. And that's a similar to what happened in Minnesota. And this is something that voting rights lawyers are very used to. Courts telling you that either you're filing too soon or too late. In this case we aired on the side of filing early, before the primary. Now the Michigan court is saying that we have to re-file after the primary."
He continued, "But, of course, by the time that happens, we have challenges in other states pending right now before the Oregon Supreme Court, and we will be filing more. So, like an investor who spreads his bets, we've not put all our eggs in one ballot basket. And though the Michigan court got it wrong by saying that the challenge can be filed before the primary, we can return to Michigan after the primary, and we'll be ready to re-file."
READ MORE: Michigan elections chief: 'Direct line' between Trump’s Detroit call and January 6 riot
Watch the video below or at this link.
Lawyer with group aiming to get Trump off MI ballot lays out next stepsyoutu.be
