Former U.S. President and Republican presidential candidate Donald Trump has asked Maine’s secretary of state recuse herself from deciding challenges against his name being on the GOP’s primary ballot. Photo by Alex Wroblewski/UPI |
License PhotoDec. 28 (UPI) — Former President Donald Trump is demanding that Maine Secretary of State Shenna Bellows recuse herself from ruling on his eligibility to be on the state’s primary ballot, citing the Democrat’s public statements concerning the Jan. 6, 2021, insurrection attempt at the U.S. Capitol.
Challenges to Trump’s application to be on Maine’s Republican primary election ballot have been presented to Bellows, arguing the former president should be made ineligible under the 14th Amendment of the Constitution having taken an oath to uphold the United States’ founding document but then engaging in insurrection.
Bellows, under state law, is expected to soon rule on the validity of those challenges and on the future of the former president and leading GOP presidential candidate’s presence on the state’s ballot.
In their letter sent Wednesday requesting that she disqualify herself from the ruling on the case, Trump’s attorneys said Bellows “has already concluded that President Trump has engaged in insurrection” and has “exhibited a personal bias in this matter.”
His counsel points to three statements she made on what was then known as Twitter but has since been rebranded as X.
The first two were written by Bellows on Feb. 13, 2021, when the Senate voted 57-43 in favor of impeaching the president, which fell below the 67 votes needed.
In the first tweet, Bellows wrote that the “Jan. 6 insurrection was an unlawful attempt to overthrow the results of a free and fair Election.”
“Today, 57 senators … found Trump guilty. That’s short of impeachment but nevertheless an indictment. The insurrectionists failed, and democracy prevailed,” she wrote.
In the second statement published to the social media platform that same day, Bellows suggested that she was disappointed Trump wasn’t impeached, an outcome she said should have occurred.
“History will not treat him or those who voted against impeachment kindly,” she said.
The third statement referenced by Trump’s counsel in their letter was published to the social media platform on Jan. 6, 2022.
“One year after the violent insurrection, it’s important we do all we can to safeguard our elections,” she said, while resharing a news article that was about efforts she has put forth to protect election officials as well as election integrity.
Trump’s counsel argues that by describing the events of Jan. 6, 2021, as a violent insurrection and stating that Trump should have been impeached, Bellows has exhibited personal bias against the former president.
“President Trump deserves a fair and impartial hearing,” his counsel wrote in their letter.
“At this point in the proceedings, the secretary may designate an impartial hearing officer, withdraw from considering the matter and turn over final adjudication to that impartial hearing office. This is a far better course of action than rendering judgment after it has become evidence that the secretary has predetermined that President Trump participated in ‘insurrection.'”
The announcement comes amid several other challenges against Trump on state ballots.
On Wednesday, the Michigan Supreme Court ruled That Trump could remain on its GOP primary ballot, while the Colorado Supreme Court ruled last week to remove him. The Colorado GOP on Wednesday appealed the decision to the U.S. Supreme Court.
