Michigan rejects bid to bar Trump from 2024 ballot
The Michigan Supreme Court on Wednesday rejected an attempt to remove Donald Trump from the crucial swing state's primary ballot next year over his role in the 2021 storming of the US Capitol. It was the latest in a series of bids to block Trump from appearing on ballots in multiple states under the 14th Amendment, which says officials who take an oath to support the US Constitution are banned from future office if they "engaged in insurrection". But Michigan's high court said in a brief ruling it was "not persuaded that the questions presented should be reviewed by this court" ahead of the state's February 27 presidential primary. The ruling came a week after Colorado's Supreme Court removed Trump from the state's primary ballot over his role in the Capitol riot, which he is accused of inciting. Trump, 77, hailed the Michigan decision, slamming a "Desperate Democrat attempt" to stack the deck against him as he seeks another term in the White House. "This pathetic gambit to rig the Election has failed all across the Country, including in States that have historically leaned heavily toward the Democrats," he posted on Truth Social, his social media platform. Colorado's highest court issued a stay, or freeze, of its bombshell ruling until January 4 pending an expected appeal by Trump's lawyers to the US Supreme Court. Granting the Colorado case for review would thrust the country's top court into the centre of the White House race, as any determination it makes on whether Trump engaged in insurrection and on his eligibility could be binding on lower courts nationwide. (AFP)