Republicans launch process to impeach Maine Secretary of State Bellows

Rep. John Andrews (R-Paris) filed formal impeachment orders against Maine Secretary of State Shenna Bellows for her decision to disqualify former President Donald Trump from the primary ballot in Maine, House Republican leader Billy Bob Faulkingham (R-Winter Harbor) said Wednesday.

Faulkingham and Senate Republican Leader Harold “Trey” Stewart (R-Aroostook) called her decision extraconstituional and a partisan move during a press conference following the start of the session, surrounded by dozens of members of Senate and House caucuses who attended in support.

“She is in fact, the best thing that Donald Trump has going for him right now, by helping to stir up our base and motivate our folks,” Stewart said. “I can tell you that the Republican base remains incredibly energized over this.”

Maine is the second state, joining Colorado, to remove Trump from the presidential primary ballot based on Section 3 of the 14th Amendment. Bellows, a Democrat, ruled on Dec. 28 that this Civil War-era insurrection clause, which prohibits anyone who took an oath to uphold the Constitution and then “engaged in insurrection or rebellion” from holding office in the U.S., prohibits Trump from the ballot because of his involvement in the attack on the U.S. Capitol on Jan. 6, 2021.

Bellows suspended her decision pending appeal, which Trump’s counsel filed Tuesday. Maine’s ballot challenge process differs from other states in that voters are required to file challenges with the Secretary of State rather than going right to court, which was the case in Colorado.

Stewart objected to Bellows’ ruling on the basis that Trump has not been formally convicted for insurrection and claimed that the evidence considered in the ballot hearing would not be permissible in court. Faulkingham additionally argued that Bellows did not fully consider the 14th Amendment in her decision.

“She’s ignoring the most important part of the 14th Amendment, the Equal Protection Clause, which is the right to every person to due process,” Faulkingham said, “and she’s completely violated Donald Trump’s right to due process.”

Bellows made her decision solely and exclusively on the facts in the hearing record, the laws and the Constitution, she said in response during an impromptu media briefing.

Maine officials react to Bellows’ decision to disqualify Trump from presidential primary ballot

“The attacks of January 6 were unprecedented,” Bellows said. “They were tragic, and they were an attack not just on the Capitol and members of Congress and the former vice president, but they were an attack on a peaceful transfer of power. They were an attack on the rule of law.”

She continued, “The evidence demonstrated that those attacks occurred at the behest with the knowledge and support of the outgoing president, and under the United States Constitution, Section 3 of the 14th Amendment, that is disqualifying.”

Legislative Republicans did not dispute Bellows’ authority to issue the decision on Trump’s ballot eligibility — a dispute repeatedly made by Trump’s counsel during proceedings — but rather the conclusion she reached. “Does she have the ability to do this? Yes,” Stewart said, “Should she have done it? Absolutely not.”

Stewart and Faulkingham described Bellows’ decision as a political move. “This speaks to the absolute partisanship of the Office of the Secretary of State,” Faulkingham said. Stewart added, “She chose to go down this road in order to try to make national headlines for some sort of political agenda and future mission that she has.”

When asked about her political ambitions and intentions, Bellows said she was focused on doing the work of the Secretary of State.

“I made my decision grounded in my oath to uphold the Constitution and the rule of law,” Bellows said. “Neither considerations for the political consequences nor my personal safety could or did enter into it.”

Bellows said she, her family and staff have and continue to receive threats. Two days after she issued her decision, Bellows’ home was swatted after someone claimed to have broken into her home.

Bellows’ decision is only the start of the process. “Now, Mr. Trump has appealed to the Superior Court, as is his constitutional right,” she said.

The Superior Court has until Jan. 17 to issue a decision in order to get ballots out to Maine voters ahead of the primary on Super Tuesday, March 5.

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