You are in the cnn newsroom. Im jim sciutto In Washington. We begin with what could be a Major Development from the us Supreme Court. The court has scheduled the release of a ruling tomorrow, driving speculation. This could be the decision on whether former President Donald Trump can appear on colorados president ial ballot. The courts decision likely to decide the matter in several other states that now have similar pending challenges. Those states include maine and illinois boy, he states argue that trumps actions surrounding january 6 and the 2020 election, his attempts to overturn it disqualify him for office under the constitution based on the 14th amendments insurrectionist ban. Cnn Senior Supreme Court analyst Joan Biskupic joins me now. Joan, great to have you unusual announcement from the us Supreme Court teeing this up. Why do we expect this as the Ballot Decision . Now, all signs pick pointed that direction, jim, first of all, at Close Of Business on friday, there was no ann
Little january 6th insurrection. The highest court in the land today kept him on the ballot in a ruling a dodges the facts of january 6th and trumps role in it. Instead, the Supreme Court handed trump a second gift on a constitutional technicality. The justices say that states do not have the power to bar candidates from running for federal office. They say, quote, because the constitution makes Congress Rather than the states responsible for enforcing section 3 against federal Office Holders and candidates, we reverse. Theyre referring to the decision by the Colorado State Supreme Court. Now, that court found that trump did engage in insurrection by trying to overturn the will of the voters by any means possible, including violence, and that section 3 of the 14th Amendment does, in fact, apply to the presidency. Now, the Supreme Courts decision today does not touch on either the question of whether trump is or is not an insurrectionist, or whether the text of section 3 applies to him.
Thanks for joining me today. Im a Marquee Mendez in for frederica. What field weve got a lot to get through, and were going to start this hour with another critical week on the Campaign Trail. And on capitol hill, former President Donald Trump continues his march towards clinching the gop president ial nomination, sweeping three more states on saturday, his campaign is now aiming to build up an insurmountable lead in two days from now, Super Tuesday, when voters in 15 states and one us territory head to the polls nearly a third of all republican delegates will be handed out. And despite just getting a fraction of the republican delegates so far, nikki haley is hanging around today. Shes dropping hints that she may stick around even if she doesnt win any states on tuesday ive always said this needs to be competitive as long as we are competitive, as long as we are showing that there is a place for us, im going to continue to fight. Thats always been the case. Would you see yourself as c
[ no audio ] [ no audio ] pables to my wash. Now ill be smelling fresh all day long. [sniff] still fresh. [ no audio ] try for under 5 hey, grab more delectables. You know, that lickable cat treat . Delickable delectables . Yes, just hurry. Hmm. It must be delicious. [narrator] this is my coffee shop. Delectables lickable treat. We just moved into a bigger space, brought on another employee, and ordered new branded gear for the team. It was so easy. I just chose my products, added our logo, and placed my order. Bring your own Team Together with custom gear. Get started today at customink. Com. Lets try that again. Hi, everybody. Just after 4 00 in new york now. Were sorry about that. We have some technical difficulties. We start again though. With the news that broke on capitol hill. And that is one Mitch Mcconnell. Who ended his tenure today as the longest serving Senate Leader in history. Hell be gone in a few monthsm but well live with his legacy for a very long time. The question b
As you are looking live there, Special Counsel jack smith will make remarks at a News Conference from the Justice Department shortly. We will bring those to you here live and we have a full show of reaction to all of the developments and the specifics on the charges for that Griff Jenkins has the details outside the courthouse. Griff good evening. Donald trump has been ordered to appear in court behind me for First Court Appearance and possible arraignment. That is the news breaking at this moment. It will be on thursday at 4 00 p. M. Now Special Counsel jack smith has laid these allegations out in the form of Speaking Indictment where prosecutors lay out a detailed time narrative events surrounding the january 6th, 2021 capitol ri ri. How they dealt with his refusal to accept the results of the 2020 president ial election. The indictment alleges, bret, that trump falsely claimed the election was stolen, that he pressured State Officials to nullify Voting Results and sought to interfer