Attorneys for Donald Trump are seeking to disqualify Maine’s secretary of state from determining whether the former president should be allowed on the state’s 2024 ballot, pointing to his past social media posts as evidence he “has concluded that President Trump is engaged in treason.”
Attorneys Benjamin Hartwell, Scott Gessler and Gary Lawkowski wrote in a letter Wednesday to Maine Secretary of State Shenna Bellows that she had “demonstrated personal bias” in three public statements “prior to the submission of evidence or arguments in this current matter,” according to a copy of the official letter. obtained by The Post.
On Feb. 13 2021, Bellows posted on Twitter that the Capitol riots on January 6, 2021 were a “rebellion” and an “illegal attempt to overturn the results of a free and fair election.”
“Today 57 Senators are included [Maine independent Angus] king & [Maine Republican Susan] Collins found Trump guilty. That’s short for indictment but an indictment nonetheless. The rebels failed, and democracy won,” he wrote.
Trump’s lawyers wrote in a letter to Maine Secretary of State Shenna Bellows (above) that he had “demonstrated personal bias” in social media posts that prevented him from making a decision. AP Attorneys for Donald Trump say Maine’s secretary of state should be disqualified from determining whether the former president should be allowed on the 2024 ballot. AP
In a subsequent tweet, he explained that he “[n]ot said [she was] not disappointed,” adding: “He should be charged. But history will not treat him or those who voted against impeachment well.”
A year later, Bellows posted on Twitter “about media reports about his efforts to ‘protect’ election officials, voting and voting machine integrity,” the lawyer said, in which he again referred to the riot as a “violent riot.”
“One year after a violent insurgency, it is important to do everything we can to protect our elections,” he said. write on January 6, 2022.
On February 13, 2021, Bellows posted on Twitter that the Capitol riots on January 6, 2021 were “rebellious” and “an illegal attempt to overturn the results of a free and fair election.” X/@shennabellows
Trump’s lawyers said Bellows should instead “appoint an impartial and unbiased hearing officer” to make a judgment on their client’s eligibility.
“At this point in the proceeding, the Secretary may appoint an impartial hearing officer, withdraw from consideration of the matter, and leave the final decision to that impartial hearing officer,” they wrote.
“This is a much better course of action than passing judgment after it is proven that the Secretary has determined in advance that President Trump is participating in ‘insurrection.'”
Bellows also posted a year later on Twitter “about media reports about his efforts to ‘protect’ election officials, votes and the integrity of voting machines,” the lawyer said, again referring to the riot as a “violent riot.” AFP via Getty Images
Bellows is expected to rule this week on a complaint challenging Trump’s eligibility for the primary vote in Maine, which argues the 77-year-old should be disqualified for violating the 14th Amendment to the Constitution, which bars from office those who participate in “insurrection or rebellion . “
“As I said in response to other questions received since the Hearing on December 15, the Secretary is not commenting while this matter is pending,” a spokesperson for the secretary of state told The Post.
The Colorado Supreme Court ruled earlier this month that the former president was disqualified based on the same constitutional violation.
Instead, the Michigan Supreme Court opposed the former president’s disqualification, arguing that the state’s secretary of state lacked the legal authority to remove a candidate nominated by a political party for a primary.
Bellows is expected to rule on three complaints challenging Trump’s vote eligibility for the 2024 GOP primary in Maine for participating in a “rebellion” on January 6, 2021. Getty Images
Unlike in Colorado and Michigan, Maine’s process for voting eligibility will be discussed first by the secretary of state before the courts get involved.
The Colorado ruling has been put on hold pending an expected appeal from Trump’s lawyers to the US Supreme Court.
In a statement Thursday, Trump campaign spokesman Steven Cheung called Bellows “a biased Democratic partisan and Biden supporter who is incapable of making a fair decision and allowing the people of Maine the right to vote for the candidate of their choice.”
“Any attempt to remove President Trump’s name from the ballot is outright election interference. It is against the Constitution, un-American, and wrong,” Cheung added.
President Biden won three of Maine’s four electoral votes in the 2020 election, while Trump won the fourth. AP
“President Trump is the leading candidate for re-nomination by the Republican Party and re-election as President by the American people in 2024, and he hopes to make America great again soon.”
President Biden won three of Maine’s four electoral votes in the 2020 election, while Trump carried the state’s 2nd Congressional District and received the fourth electoral vote.
Trump is now two percentage points ahead of Biden in national popular vote polls, according to the RealClearPolitics polling average.
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Source: thtrangdai.edu.vn/en/
