The board chairs of the group that brought the lawsuit leading to former President Donald Trump’s removal from the 2024 Colorado ballot had previously donated large sums to President Biden’s campaign and victory fund, filings reviewed by Fox News Digital show.
Background of the Lawsuit
The Colorado Supreme Court disqualified Trump from the ballot on Tuesday under the 14th Amendment of the U.S. Constitution over the Jan. 6, 2021, Capitol riots.
“We do not reach these conclusions lightly,” the court’s majority wrote. “We are mindful of the magnitude and weight of the questions now before us. We are likewise mindful of our solemn duty to apply the law, without fear or favor, and without being swayed by public reaction to the decisions that the law mandates we reach.”
Citizens for Responsibility and Ethics in Washington (CREW), a self-identified “nonpartisan” watchdog group, brought the Colorado lawsuit against Trump on behalf of “six Republican and unaffiliated Colorado voters, including former state, federal, and local officials,” the group wrote on its website in early September.
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Donations to Biden’s Campaign
CREW’s leaders, meanwhile, have showered Biden with thousands of dollars in donations when he previously went head-to-head against Trump.
- Beth Nolan, a former general counsel at George Washington University who also served as counsel to former President Bill Clinton, steers CREW’s board as its chair. According to Federal Election Commission records, Nolan sent $2,800 to Biden’s campaign and $3,000 to the Biden Victory Fund in 2020.
- In addition to Nolan, CREW’s vice-chair, Wayne Jordan, donated substantial amounts to Biden’s presidential apparatus by pushing $300,000 to the Biden Victory Fund in 2020. Jordan is married to Democrat megadonor Quinn Delaney, who added $650,000 to Biden’s victory fund during the last election cycle, records show.
Critics Question Nonpartisanship
Despite its self-identified “nonpartisan” status, CREW has long been viewed as a left-leaning organization. David Brock, founder of the liberal groups Media Matters for America and American Bridge, previously ran the group as its board chair.
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The Role of CREW in the Lawsuit
CREW’s involvement on behalf of the six voters ultimately led to Tuesday’s Colorado Supreme Court ruling to remove Trump from appearing on the state’s ballots. The watchdog group’s website states Tierney Lawrence Stiles LLC, KBN Law LLC, and Olson Grimsley Kawanabe Hinchcliff & Murray LLC were also involved with the effort.
In a 4 to 3 ruling, the court argued that under section 3 of the 14th Amendment, Trump is “disqualified” from holding the office of president in connection to his alleged role on Jan. 6, 2021, and therefore, would not appear on the 2024 ballot.
According to the 14th Amendment, no person shall hold public office who has taken an oath to support the Constitution and “engaged in insurrection or rebellion.” The Colorado justices argued Trump violated this clause.
Reaction and Legal Challenge
Justice Carlos Samour, one of the three Democrat-appointed justices who dissented, wrote that the decision “risked chaos in the country” and urged that “there must be procedural due process before we can declare that individual disqualified from holding public office.”
Trump’s campaign has vowed to “swiftly” appeal the Colorado court’s decision to the U.S. Supreme Court, where observers largely believe it will be overturned.
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