Maine Secretary of State Shenna Bellows (D) said Friday on “CNN This Morning” that she ruled that former President Donald Trump was “not qualified to hold the office of the President under Section 3 of the 14th Amendment” and therefore will not be on the state’s ballot because he “engaged” in insurrection.
Bellows said, “My first and foremost obligation is my oath to uphold the Constitution and the rule of law. Now, different states are different. For example, our neighboring New Hampshire, there are more than a dozen candidates on the Democratic presidential ballot, but Mr. Joseph Biden is not a Democratic presidential primary ballot in New Hampshire, and there are more than a dozen Republican candidates. In Maine, there are two candidates on the Democratic presidential primary ballot and less than a dozen Republican presidential candidates. So, every state is different. My obligation and duty, my sole consideration is my oath to uphold the Constitution.”
She added, “I reviewed Section 3 of the 14th Amendment very carefully and determined that Section 3 of the 14th Amendment does not say conviction, it says engage. And let’s go back and keep in mind that the events of January 6, 2021 were unprecedented and tragic. This was an attack not only on the Capitol and government officials and former vice president, members of Congress, but an attack on the rule of law. And the weight of evidence that I reviewed indicated that it was, in fact, an insurrection, and Mr. Trump engaged in that insurrection under Section 3 of the 14th Amendment.”
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