Former President Donald Trump asked Democratic Maine Secretary of State Shenna Bellows Wednesday to recuse herself from deciding whether he is eligible to appear on the state’s ballot.
Bellows is set to soon decide on the issue as she considers three complaints challenging his eligibility under Section 3 of the 14th amendment, adopted after the Civil War, which bars individuals who took an oath to the Constitution and then “engaged in insurrection” from holding office. Trump’s lawyers sent a letter Wednesday requesting she disqualify herself because she has “already concluded that President Trump engaged in insurrection,” citing public statements she previously made on social media.
“The Jan 6 insurrection was an unlawful attempt to overthrow the results of a free and fair election,” Bellows wrote in a Feb. 13, 2021, statement, according to the letter. “Today 57 Senators including King & Collins found Trump guilty. That’s short of impeachment but nevertheless an indictment. The insurrectionists failed, and democracy prevailed.”
On Jan. 6, 2022, she also posted, “One year after the violent insurrection, it’s important to do all we can to safeguard our elections.”
Trump’s lawyers wrote that he “deserves a fair and impartial hearing.”
“Using similar language, the Challengers have claimed that the events of January 6, 2021, constituted a violent insurrection and that President Trump somehow poses a danger from which Maine voters must be protected,” they wrote. “Thus, the Secretary has already passed judgment on the Challengers’ core assertions.”
The Colorado Supreme Court ruled on Dec. 19 that Trump was ineligible to appear on the state’s ballot. It paused its decision until Jan. 4 to allow Trump time to appeal to the Supreme Court. The Michigan Supreme Court declined Wednesday to remove Trump from the state’s ballot.
The secretary of state’s office did not immediately respond to the Daily Caller News Foundation’s request for comment.
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