Conservative Legal Icon, Ex-DOJ Official Comment On ‘Masterful’ Colorado Trump Ruling

Conservative retired former federal Judge J. Michael Luttig and former Obama-era acting Solicitor General Neil Katyal on Tuesday, in separate interviews on MSNBC, explained why they think Donald Trump’s likely appeal to the U.S. Supreme Court against his removal from the presidential primary ballot in Colorado will fail.

The bombshell decision by the Colorado Supreme Court is “a masterful judicial opinion of constitutional law” and “will stand the test of the time,” Luttig told Stephanie Ruhle.

The U.S. Supreme Court “will affirm this decision” because it’s not a political decision, predicted Luttig, who in 2021 advised then-Vice President Mike Pence over refusing Trump’s bid to overturn the 2020 election result.

Katyal, in an interview with Lawrence O’Donnell, agreed the ruling should be affirmed by the U.S. Supreme Court.

“Trump had every opportunity in the Colorado court to present his side of the case,” he said. “He presented it. He lost. And so, at this point, he’s had, I think, his shot.”

It’s a “solemn moment” and “kind of horrendous we are in this situation,” he continued.

Katyal also noted the irony of Trump’s previous belief in the “strict construction of the Constitution, and now he’s being hoist on his own petard.”