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CHARLESTON - Attorneys representing West Virginia Secretary of State Mac Warner agreed with a federal magistrate that it was too soon to hear a case brought by a long-shot Republican candidate for president to keep Donald Trump off the 2024 primary ballot.
The office filed a combined response Thursday agreeing with a recommendation made last week by U.S. Magistrate Judge Omar J. Aboulhosn to deny an emergency application made last month by Texas Republican presidential write-in candidate John Anthony Castro seeking a prohibition blocking Trump from being placed on West Virginia's ballot.
Castro filed motions last month in the U.S. District Court for the Southern District of West Virginia against Trump and the Secretary of State seeking a restraining order and a request for an expedited preliminary injunction and preliminary bench trial.
Castro argues Trump is not qualified to run for president due to constitutional provisions that prohibit individuals from holding future federal offices if they "have engaged in insurrection or rebellion against" the federal government. He cites Trump's words and actions on Jan. 6, 2021, which resulted in a riot at the U.S. Capitol by Trump supporters attempting to stop the certification of the 2020 election for President Joe Biden.
Castro first filed his lawsuit on Sept. 7. Despite Castro filing his emergency application on Sept. 20, the Attorney General's Office said the Secretary of State's Office has never been properly served by Castro either in person, by mail or electronically, though Castro, representing himself, swore in court filing that the paperwork had been served. Nevertheless, the Secretary of State's office agreed with Aboulhosn's recommendations.
"...It has been well over two weeks since that date, and no such mailing has appeared," wrote Deputy Attorney General Curtis Capehart. "In short, it appears that the Plaintiff failed to serve the Secretary with a copy of the Emergency Application by any of the three methods articulated in his certificate of service at that time."
"Although Secretary Warner was never properly served with the emergency application and formally objects to plaintiff's request for a temporary restraining order and request for expedited hearing, the secretary agrees with Magistrate Aboulhosn's proposed findings and recommendation because the plaintiff cannot clearly show he will suffer immediate and irreparable injury, loss, or damage to justify granting such an extreme remedy," Capehart continued.
The candidate filing period for the 2024 primaries and general election is Jan. 8 through midnight Jan 27. Capehart argued it was premature to file a case to keep Trump off the ballot until the candidate filing period opens.
"...The period for candidates to file their certificates of announcement with the secretary's office does not open for over three months," Capehart wrote. "It is impossible for (Castro) to establish the need for a temporary restraining order (or a preliminary injunction, for that matter) as he is in no way suffering an immediate or irreparable injury...as no one is permitted to file their certificate of announcement until Jan. 8, 2024, at the earliest."
The West Virginia Republican Party, which filed a motion to intervene in the lawsuit last week, filed its complaint Tuesday asking U.S. District Court Judge Irene Berger to enter a final judgment denying Castro's request to block Trump from being placed on West Virginia's ballot.
West Virginia Republican Executive Committee Chairwoman Elgine McArdle, represented by the American Center for Law and Justice, argued Castro's lawsuit interferes with the state party's ability and the ability of Republican and independent voters in the state from choosing the best person to represent them for president. Castro filed an objection to the state Republican Party's complaint Thursday.
"According to WVGOP's interpretation, they could run Vladmir Putin and Kim Jong Un as candidates and no one has the authority to tell them otherwise," Castro wrote. "If that sounds ridiculous, it's because it is; but that's WVGOP's frivolous position."
"WVGOP seeks to prevent me from exercising my First Amendment right to petition the judiciary to redress a grievance because it would prevent them from associating with an individual," Castro continued. "The frivolity is through the roof on this one."