RollingStone: “The Supreme Court heard arguments on Thursday pertaining to whether states can throw Donald Trump off the 2024 presidential ballots if they determine he violated the 14th Amendment — which essentially disqualifies insurrectionists from holding office. The former president shouldn’t be too worried, however, as the conservative-controlled court seems unlikely to permit what Chief Justice John Roberts described as a “pretty daunting consequence.” The justices did not seem very concerned with the question of whether Trump is actually an insurrectionist, only addressing it briefly during the proceedings. Trump lawyer Jonathan Mitchell rejected the notion that the violent assault on the U.S. Capitol on Jan. 6, 2021, qualified as an insurrection. “This was a riot,” he said. “It was not an insurrection.” Trump’s legal team also tried to throw cold water on the idea in a filing earlier this week, writing that the “events of January 6 were not an ‘insurrection’ as they did not involve an organized attempt to overthrow or resist the U.S. government.” Trump disagrees, apparently. “They kept saying about what I said right after the insurrection,” he said outside Mar-a-Lago after arguments concluded in Washington, D.C. “I think it was an insurrection caused by Nancy Pelosi…”

• See also Just Security: Dissecting Trump’s “Peacefully and Patriotically” Defense of the January 6th Attack
• See also SCOTUS Blog – Supreme Court appears unlikely to kick Trump off Colorado ballot – “At oral argument on Thursday the justices seemed skeptical of Colorado voters’ position that former President Donald Trump should be removed from the state’s ballot based on his role in the Jan. 6, 2021, attacks on the U.S. Capitol. Justices across the ideological spectrum questioned the reasoning and the monumental possible effects of such a decision.”
• See also The New York Times: “In a two-hour oral argument at the Supreme Court yesterday, nearly all justices appeared skeptical of Colorado’s effort to keep Trump off the ballot. Colorado officials have argued that his role in the Jan. 6 attack on Congress makes him an insurrectionist and that the 14th Amendment bars insurrectionists from the presidency. Maine has also moved to bar Trump, and other states would likely follow if the Supreme Court were to allow it. The legal issues are complex, and we walk through them below. But the justices are surely considering a larger political question, too. As Adam Liptak, who covers the Supreme Court for The Times, told us yesterday: Donald Trump is accused of doing grave wrongs in trying to overturn the election. But who should decide the consequences of that? Should it be nine people in Washington? Should it be individual states? Should it be Congress? Or should it be the electorate of the United States, which can, for itself, assess whether Trump’s conduct is so blameworthy that he should not have the opportunity to serve another term?As Neal Katyal, a former Obama administration official who argues before the Supreme Court, said yesterday, “This argument did not go well for the Trump challengers.”