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Congressman Eric Swalwell to Take the Stand in Trump’s 14th Amendment Ineligibility Trial

Expected to serve as a witness, Congressman Eric Swalwell, a Democrat from California, will be taking the stand in a legal case in Colorado. The case seeks to determine if former President Donald Trump can appear on Colorado’s 2024 electoral ballot, invoking the 14th Amendment’s prohibition against insurrectionists holding office. Swalwell will share his first-hand account of the January 6, 2021, Capitol riot, emphasizing how the event disrupted the U.S. Constitution’s safeguarded process for a peaceful power transition.

Swalwell was one of the last legislators to evacuate the House chamber when the Capitol was breached. In a 2021 interview with the San Francisco Chronicle, he expressed his astonishment, saying he’d believed the Capitol to be among the most secure places on Earth. His incredulity underlines how unsettling the event was, given the symbolic and actual fortification of the Capitol building.

The case itself was initiated by the Citizens for Responsibility and Ethics in Washington (CREW) and a group of six voters from Colorado. The plaintiffs rely on Section 3 of the 14th Amendment, which bars anyone who has sworn to uphold the U.S. Constitution but later acts in insurrection against it from holding future office. They argue that Donald Trump’s conduct during the events surrounding January 6 meets this criterion, claiming that he fanned the flames with unfounded allegations of election fraud and directed the mob’s focus toward the Capitol.

Presiding over the bench trial is Colorado Judge Sarah Wallace, who will be the sole arbiter of the case’s outcome. She has identified nine key areas for consideration, including the interpretation of terms like “engaged” and “insurrection” as they appear in the 14th Amendment. The trial is slated to last approximately one week.