Supreme Court to rule if Trump can run for president (ed)

6th January 2024 The justices agreed to take up Mr Trump's appeal against a decision by Colorado to remove him from the 2024 ballot in that state.The justices took up the case with unusual speed. 

The case will be heard in February and the ruling will apply nationwide.

Lawsuits in a number of states are seeking to disqualify Mr Trump, arguing that he engaged in insurrection during the US Capitol riot three years ago.

The legal challenges hinge on whether a Civil War-era constitutional amendment renders Mr Trump ineligible to stand as a candidate.

The Supreme Court's decision to hear Mr Trump's appeal came after attorneys general from 27 states filed a brief asking the court to reject Colorado's ruling.

The 14th Amendment of the US Constitution bans anyone who has "engaged in insurrection or rebellion" from holding federal office, but the former president's lawyers argue it does not apply to the president. 

The Colorado case thrusts the Supreme Court - whose 6-3 conservative majority includes three justices appointed by Trump - into the unprecedented and politically fraught effort by his detractors to invalidate his campaign to reclaim the White House. 

March 5 2024 - The U.S. Supreme Court acted unanimously when it sided with Donald Trump and prevented states from barring candidates for federal office from ballots based on a constitutional provision concerning insurrection.

But despite the 9-0 outcome, the nation's highest judicial body clearly remained deeply divided, just as it has been in major cases in recent years on abortion, guns and federal agency powers, with justices differing on their reasoning in Monday's decision and sniping at each other over their choice of words.

The justices unanimously overturned a decision by Colorado's top court to kick the former president off the state's Republican primary ballot after finding that the U.S. Constitution's 14th Amendment disqualified him from again holding public office. The Colorado court had found that Trump took part in an insurrection for inciting and supporting the Jan. 6, 2021, attack on the U.S. Capitol by his supporters.