Colorado Sec of State says SCOTUS not 'friendly' to democracy, voting rights ahead of Trump ballot ruling
Colorado Secretary of State Jena Griswold said Friday she believes the Supreme Court is no friend to "democracy, voting rights, and fundamental freedoms."
Democratic Colorado Secretary of State Jena Griswold trashed the Supreme Court on Friday after the justices signaled they were leaning towards overruling Colorado's high court decision to ban former President Trump from the state's primary ballot.
Griswold told CNN anchor John Berman she knows that the Supreme Court has "not been friendly" to democracy the day after the body heard oral arguments in the Trump v. Anderson case on Thursday.
The state official stressed the importance of the case and noted she found it surprising that the justices did not seem to discuss whether Trump committed an "insurrection" on Jan. 6, 2021.
"We know this is a court that has not been friendly to democracy, voting rights, and fundamental freedoms. I think, ultimately, this case is really important," she said.
She then noted the feeling she got while seeing the government buildings in D.C. this week as the case began and imagining a pro-Trump mob storming them.
"It was stunning yesterday. We can just see the Capitol right across the street, re-imagine what it was like, those congresspeople running for their lives, a violent mob going to stop the peaceful transfer of power, and then being in the Supreme Court and hearing Donald Trump continue to lie about his role in the insurrection. So, it was a bit surreal," she said.
Berman pressed Griswold on whether she thinks Colorado will win the case against Trump. The official did not answer the question directly, but mentioned that the case is important because it will "explore section 3 of the 14th Amendment."
"It was designed with the understanding that insurrectionists in office is tremendously dangerous, that insurrectionists, if they are elected, can destroy democracy from within," she said.
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Griswold also noted that she is "hesitant" to read too much into the oral argument portions of these cases, opting to withhold a prediction. Even left-leaning media pundits acknowledged Thursday, however, that the justices' questioning indicated Trump would win the case.
Griswold said she was shocked that the justices seemed uncertain about how they would "ever define insurrection."
"It’s the United States Supreme Court. They have all the tools to be able to define what an insurrection is," she stated. "Make no mistake, Donald Trump broke the laws. He incited that violent mob."