Day 1140: "Such chaos."
1/ The Supreme Court unanimously reversed the Colorado Supreme Court decision to remove Trump from the ballot for engaging in an insurrection on Jan. 6. The ruling ends efforts in Colorado, Illinois, Maine and elsewhere to remove Trump from the ballot. In an unsigned ruling with no dissents, the court said that only Congress – not the states – can disqualify a presidential candidate under the Constitution’s insurrection clause, suggesting that the result could lead to an unworkable “patchwork” where a candidate could be ineligible in one state but not another. “Nothing in the Constitution requires that we endure such chaos — arriving at any time or different times, up to and perhaps beyond the inauguration,” the court wrote. Five of the six conservative justices went further, saying that Congress must determine who was disqualified under Section 3 of the Constitution’s 14th Amendment. The justices, however, didn’t weigh in on whether Trump engaged in an insurrection by attempting to overturn the 2020 election results or encouraging the violence on Jan. 6. Trump, meanwhile, posted on his personal social media network after the decision: “BIG WIN FOR AMERICA!!!” (Washington Post / NBC News / Associated Press / Politico / NPR / New York Times / Axios / ABC News / CNN / CNBC / Bloomberg / Wall Street Journal)
- Biden warned that Trump won’t concede if he loses in November, saying: “Losers are never graceful.” (Axios)
2/ Trump’s former chief financial officer pleaded guilty to perjury related to testimony he gave during Trump’s civil fraud trial. Allen Weisselberg pleaded guilty to two counts of perjury and will be sentenced to five months in jail – his second guilty plea in a criminal case involving his work for Trump. He pleaded guilty in a tax fraud case in 2022 and was sentenced to five months. (Axios / NBC News / Politico / Associated Press / CNN / ABC News / Wall Street Journal / New York Times)
- Trump – again – requested a delay in the $83 million judgment against him in the E. Jean Carroll’s defamation case. Trump also owes $454 million in his civil fraud case. (ABC News)
3/ Kamala Harris called for an immediate ceasefire in Gaza, citing the “humanitarian catastrophe” caused by the Israel-Hamas War. “Given the immense scale of suffering in Gaza, there must be an immediate ceasefire,” Harris said. Israel has reportedly agreed to a deal in principle, in which there would be a four- to six-week ceasefire in exchange for Hamas releasing hostages, and that “the onus right now is on Hamas.” Still, Harris added: “The Israeli government must do more to significantly increase the flow of aid. No excuses. […] People in Gaza are starving. The conditions are inhumane and our common humanity compels us to act.” The U.S. began air-dropping 38,000 meals and other aid over the Gaza Strip after more than 100 Palestinians were killed in a chaotic scene where the Israeli military opened fire on a crowd gathered around a convoy of trucks carrying desperately needed aid. Meanwhile, a member of Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu’s war cabinet is scheduled to meet with Harris as talks drag on over a deal to release hostages taken during the Oct. 7 attacks. (Reuters / USA Today / NPR / Bloomberg / Wall Street Journal / ABC News / NBC News)
4/ The United Nations reported that it had found “reasonable grounds” to believe that sexual violence occurred during the Hamas terror attacks on Israel, including rape and gang rape in at least three locations. “In most of these incidents, victims first subjected to rape were then killed,” the report said, “and at least two incidents relate to the rape of women’s corpses.” The team also said it had found “clear and convincing evidence” that hostages being held by Hamas in Gaza were subjected to “rape and sexualized torture and sexualized cruel, inhuman and degrading treatment.” (Washington Post / New York Times / CNN)
⏩ Notably next: Super Tuesday is tomorrow. Here’s what to expect. (NPR / Washington Post)