Maine’s top election official has removed former President Donald Trump from the state’s 2024 ballot, in a surprise decision based on the 14th Amendment’s “insurrectionist ban.”
They're trying to impeach Biden for literally nothing. They said they'll figure it out as they go. It's a literal witch hunt. They're trying to make impeachments mean nothing so that twice-impeached Trump can shrug his off.
it is ironic that trump continually used the term witch hunt but it actually applies with biden being there is no real basis for their investigation. Trump literally told a foreign leader he would not release aid without quid pro quo which again ironically was to get false info to go after biden. Its just crazy to think about (as pretty much everything with trump is)
it is ironic that trump continually used the term witch hunt but it actually applies with biden being there is no real basis for their investigation. Trump literally told a foreign leader he would not release aid without quid pro quo which again ironically was to get false info to go after biden. Its just crazy to think about (as pretty much everything with trump is)
They already declined Jack Smith's request to take this question up early. They clearly don't want to touch it. Unsure if appeals will cause these removals to be stopped or allowed to continue or not. If an appeal stops his removal, I'd bet that would be their goal.
Very likely they will overturn the CO decision...most of the states declining to remove him are because the party has the say on the primary ballot....its a different story on the general election though. This is what the MI court basically said. They left the challenge open for the general election qualifications.
Also SCOTUS declined to expedite the "immunity" ruling because they likely don't want to take it. The appeals will very likely say "the president is not a fucking King" and the SCOTUS will decline to hear the case and say "what they said."
This is what the MI court basically said. They left the challenge open for the general election qualifications.
I honestly think they were right on this. Ultimately the primary is an election for a private organization to decide who they are going to back as candidates for various offices. There's no legal basis for forcing them to choose candidates who actually qualify for those offices.
Now the general election is an entirely different boat.
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Maine’s top election official has removed former President Donald Trump from the state’s 2024 primary ballot, in a surprising decision based on the 14th Amendment’s “insurrectionist ban.”
The decision makes Maine the second state to disqualify Trump from office, after the Colorado Supreme Court handed down its own stunning ruling that removed him from the ballot earlier this month.
Maine Secretary of State Shenna Bellows, a Democrat, issued the decision Thursday after presiding over an administrative hearing earlier this month about Trump’s eligibility for office.
“Democracy is sacred … 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.
“The oath I swore to uphold the Constitution comes first above all, and my duty under Maine’s election laws … is to ensure that candidates who appear on the primary ballot are qualified for the office they seek,” she said.
Explaining her reasoning, Bellows wrote that the challengers presented compelling evidence that the January 6 insurrection “occurred at the behest of” Trump – and that the US Constitution “does not tolerate an assault on the foundations of our government.”
They're the secretary of state. Every state has one. Their primary job is administering elections in the state. This includes applying rules for eligibility of candidates. For instance if you were 30 and applied to be put on the ballet for president, it would be the secretary of state who says no, you must be at least 35, we're not putting you on. Of course their decisions about various things can be challenged in court and often are.
In the Colorado case the decision first came from a judge, because there the secretary of state declined to take him off the ballot. Colorado voters sued their secretary of state for neglect or breach of duty for allowing Trump on the ballot in violation of the fourteenth amendment.
Here's the ruling from that case where you can see it was technically the secretary of state for Colorado who was sued:
In Maine no one had to sue the secretary of state first, the secretary of state just said straight up, hey trump you're not eligible, 14th amendment applies, just like they would have if he didn't meet other qualifications like being a natural born citizen or being at least the age of 35. Now likely Trump will sue the secretary of state in Maine to try and get the courts to put him back on. They also became involved in the litigation in Colorado after it started, since he had an interest in the case.