Some news broke last week regarding the judge who is presiding in the Colorado Trump ballot case that is not good for the former president.
Judge Sarah Wallace is not only a Democrat donor, but she also donated to a group specifically targeting Trump for his alleged role in the January 6 riot at the Capitol.
The question now is whether her eventual ruling will be tainted by her political affiliations.
Talking Points...
ActBlue is the primary fundraising platform of the Democrat Party, and Wallace used the platform to make numerous donations in the past to Democrat candidates and at least one organization that is getting a lot of attention.
She had sent $100 to a group called the Colorado Turnout Project.
The organization's website states:
"We formed shortly after Colorado Republicans refused to condemn the political extremists who stormed the United States Capitol on January 6, 2021. In fact, Republican Representative Lauren Boebert (CO-3) even encouraged the violence.
"The Colorado Turnout Project aims to prevent violent insurrections by addressing this problem at its source– if we vote out pariahs like Representative Boebert, we can turn CO Blue once and for all."
Needless to say, when this donation was made public, there were a lot of questions raised about Judge Wallace's bias in the Colorado ballot case, where a suit was filed to remove Trump via Section 3 of the 14th Amendment.
According to Wallace, she was unaware of the recipient of her donation.
She stated:
"I have no specific memory of this contribution
"I do not dispute that in October 2022, prior to taking the bench, I apparently made a $100 contribution to the Colorado Turnout Project. That being said, prior to yesterday, I was not cognizant of this organization or its mission. It has always been my practice, whether I was entirely successful or not, to make contributions to individuals, not [political action committees]. While I have no specific memory of this contribution, it was my practice and my intention to contribute to an individual candidate, and not a PAC."
Now, if you have ever donated money to a campaign or organization online, it is always quite clear where that money is going, so I am not buying the statement made by Wallace.
This is an easy fix, however... just recuse yourself from the case to avoid any calls of bias in the judgment if it is made against Trump.
We should note, however, that quite a few of these lawsuits have been filed, and Wallace is the only judge who has allowed the case to move forward.
It is beyond a loose interpretation of Section 3 to argue that Trump can be disqualified, especially when he is not facing any formal charges of insurrection or of lending aid and comfort to insurrectionists.
The solace for Trump is that if he does lose this case, it will be expedited by the Supreme Court, and I have little doubt that the Supreme Court would rule in his favor.