Maine Secretary of State Shenna Bellows, a Democrat, issued the disqualification ruling on Dec. 28. This came a day after Trump's lawyers demanded Bellows to recuse herself from her upcoming decision on the former president's ballot eligibility. According to the Guardian, Bellows examined the case after a group of citizens challenged Trump's inclusion in the primary ballot.
Unlike other states where plaintiffs have sued over Trump's eligibility in court, The Pine Tree State allows the state secretary to weigh in – which Bellows did. Challengers can then appeal in state court. In support of the citizens who challenged Trump, Bellows ruled that Trump's actions on Jan. 6, 2021 violated the Fourteenth Amendment.
"I do not reach this conclusion lightly," wrote Bellows. "I am mindful that no secretary of state has ever deprived a presidential candidate of ballot access, based on Section Three of the Fourteenth Amendment. I am also mindful, however, that no presidential candidate has ever before engaged in insurrection."
The Maine secretary of state's decision came 10 days after the Colorado Supreme Court ruled 4-3 to remove Trump from the Centennial State's primary ballot. "Both the Maine and Colorado decision are based on [the same provision], which bans from office those who 'engaged in insurrection,'" the Guardian pointed out. "The provision, which came after the Civil War, was intended to prevent Confederates from retaking power."
All is not lost, however, with ZeroHedge noting that "the question will ultimately decided by the U.S. Supreme Court." Constitutional scholar Jonathan Turley also predicted that the state-level primary ballot bans on Trump "will be overturned because it is wrong on the history and the language of the Fourteenth Amendment." He also pointed out that the J6 was a "riot," compared to the Civil War that was an actual rebellion. (Related: Legal scholar Jonathan Turley blasts Colorado Supreme Court decision to remove Trump from Republican primary ballot.)
Trump campaign rebukes Democrat Bellows' biased decision
Steven Cheung, spokesman for the Trump campaign, denounced Bellows' Dec. 28 decision. "We are witnessing, in real time, the attempted theft of an election and the disenfranchisement of the American voter," he said. "Democrats in blue states are recklessly and unconstitutionally suspending the civil rights of the American voters by attempting to summarily remove [former] President Trump's name from the ballot."
"Make no mistake: These partisan election interference efforts are a hostile assault on American democracy. [President Joe] Biden and the Democrats simply do not trust the American voter in a free and fair election, and are now relying on the force of government institutions to protect their grip on power."
Cheung also denounced Bellows, a former attorney for the American Civil Liberties Union. According to him, the Maine official is "a virulent leftist" and "a hyper-partisan Biden-supporting Democrat who has decided to interfere in the presidential election on behalf of" the incumbent. He also stressed that the Trump campaign "will quickly file a legal objection in state court to prevent this atrocious decision in Maine from taking effect."
Incidentally, the Dec. 27 letter to Bellows penned by Trump's legal team highlighted the Maine secretary of state's clear bias against the former president. It highlighted two social media posts she made that concerning the J6 false-flag riot.
In one of the posts, Bellows argued that the J6 riot "was an unlawful attempt to overthrow the results of a free and fair election." Another post published on Jan. 6, 2022 – the first anniversary of the J6 riot – stated: "One year after the violent insurrection, it's important to do all we can to safeguard our elections." Trump's lawyers ultimately argued in the letter that based on these posts, the Maine official "has already passed judgment."
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Watch this Fox News report about Maine Secretary of State Shenna Bellows removing Trump from the state's primary ballot.
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