Trump faceplants again in effort to throw out trial that could remove him from ballot

Former President Donald Trump has lost yet another procedural bid to toss out the case in Colorado challenging his eligibility for the presidential ballot under the 14th Amendment, reported The New York Times on Wednesday.

"It came after a lawyer for Mr. Trump had made a motion for a 'directed verdict' — essentially a conclusion, even before the defense had called any witnesses, that no legally sufficient basis existed for the plaintiffs to prevail," reported Maggie Astor. "The Trump team argued that his words and actions leading up to the Jan. 6, 2021, attack on the Capitol were definitively protected by the First Amendment." State Judge Sarah Wallace denied the motion, but stressed it was not a decision on the case's merits.

This comes after a series of other setbacks Trump has faced in the case, including other attempts to get the case tossed and a demand for Wallace to recuse herself on the basis that she donated $100 to a liberal voter turnout group. All of these motions were rejected.

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The case, filed by six voters in Colorado, argues that the ex-president is ineligble for office under Section 3 of the 14th Amendment, known as the Insurrection Clause. The provision states that anyone who "shall have engaged in insurrection or rebellion against the same, or given aid or comfort to the enemies thereof" is disqualified from holding office unless a two-thirds vote of Congress allows it.

Similar cases have been filed in other states, including Michigan and Minnesota.

Colorado Secretary of State Jena Griswold, who is technically a defendant in the 14th Amendment case, has sharply criticized the former president for his refusal to attend the trial himself.