Maine’s secretary of state can’t fairly judge Donald Trump's 14th Amendment challenge because she once described the Jan. 6 riots as an “insurrection,” the former president's attorneys argued Wednesday.
Trump’s lawyers sent Shenna Bellows a letter demanding she recuse herself over three tweets posted in the wake of the historic attack on the U.S. Capitol in January 2021.
"The Secretary has already passed judgment on the Challengers’ core assertions.” write attorneys from Bruce Helper’s law offices.
“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."
Bellows wrote the three tweets on Feb. 13, 2021 and on Jan. 6, 2022, the letter shows.
“One year after the violent insurrection,” Bellows’ last tweet reads, “it’s important to do all we can to safeguard our elections.”
The Hill, first to report the letter, notes Maine’s legal system allows Bellows to weigh in first on eligibility challenges seeking to ban Trump from the state’s 2024 presidential ballot.
Bellows is currently considering three administrative challenges to Trump's eligibility to run in the Maine primary, according to LawFare’s tracker of Trump’s Section 3 ballot challenges.
The Secretary's spokesperson told The Hill she would not comment on a pending matter.
