Former US president Donald Trump has appealed a ruling by Maine’s secretary of state barring him from the state’s 2024 ballot over his role in the January 6, 2021, attack on the US Capitol.
Key points:
Donald Trump’s lawyers argue his removal from the Maine ballot was “due to her bias”
He is also expected to appeal a similar decision in Colorado
Mr Trump contends he incited no riot, never swore to “support” the constitution and was not a government officer
On Tuesday, he contended she had no authority, that he incited no riot, never swore to “support” the constitution and was not a government officer as stipulated in the constitutional amendment she cited.
Mr Trump appealed the Maine decision by Democrat Shenna Bellows, who became the first secretary of state in history to bar someone from running for the presidency under the rarely used Section 3 of the 14th Amendment, which prohibits those who “engaged in insurrection” from holding office.
Mr Trump’s appeal on Tuesday asks that Ms Bellows be required to place him on the March 5 primary ballot and argues that she abused her discretion and relied on “untrustworthy evidence”.
“The secretary should have recused herself due to her bias against President Trump, as demonstrated by a documented history of prior statements prejudging the issue presented,” Mr Trump’s lawyers wrote.
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Ms Bellows reiterated to The Associated Press on Tuesday that her ruling was on pause pending the outcome of the appeal, which had been expected.
“This is part of the process. I have confidence in my decision and confidence in the rule of law,” she said.
“This is Maine’s process and it’s really important that first and foremost every single one of us who serves in government uphold the Constitution and the laws of the state.”
Colorado appeal expected
Mr Trump is expected to appeal a similar ruling by the Colorado Supreme Court directly to the US Supreme Court, which has never issued a decision on Section 3.
The Colorado court’s 4-3 ruling that it applied to Mr Trump was the first time in history the provision was used to bar a presidential contender from the ballot.
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Mr Trump’s critics have filed dozens of lawsuits seeking to disqualify him in multiple states.
None succeeded until a slim majority of Colorado’s seven justices — all of whom were appointed by Democratic governors — ruled against Mr Trump.
A week after Colorado’s ruling, Ms Bellows issued her own. Critics warned it was even more perilous because it could pave the way for partisan election officials to simply disqualify candidates they oppose.
Ms Bellows, a former head of Maine’s branch of the American Civil Liberties Union, has previously criticised Mr Trump and his behaviour on January 6.
Shenna Bellows says her ruling was on pause due to the appeal.(AP Photo: Robert F. Bukaty)
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History of Section 3
The constitution’s Section 3 has been barely used since the years after the Civil War, when it kept defeated Confederates from returning to their former government positions.
The two-sentence clause says that anyone who swore an oath to “support” the constitution and then engaged in insurrection cannot hold office unless a two-thirds vote of Congress allows it.
Mr Trump’s lawyers argue the provision isn’t intended to apply to the president, contending that the oath for the top office in the land isn’t to “support” the constitution but instead to “preserve, protect and defend” it.
They also argue that the presidency isn’t explicitly mentioned in the amendment, only any “officer of the United States”.
Mr Trump made the opposite argument defending against his prosecution for falsifying business records by the Manhattan District Attorney’s office, contending the case should move to federal court because the president is “an officer of the United States”.
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The prosecutors argued that language only applies to presidential appointees — Mr Trump’s position in Maine.
Pro-Trump protesters stormed the US Capitol building in an attempt to stop the certification of the 2020 US presidential election results on January 6, 2021.(Reuters: Shannon Stapleton)
The contention that Section 3 doesn’t apply to the president drew a scathing response from the Colorado Supreme Court last month.
“President Trump asks us to hold that Section 3 disqualifies every oath breaking insurrectionist except the most powerful one and that it bars oath breakers from virtually every office, both state and federal, except the highest one in the land,” the court’s majority opinion said.
“Both results are inconsistent with the plain language and history of Section 3.”
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Section 3 recently returned to use. In 2022, a judge used it to remove a rural New Mexico county commissioner from office after he was convicted of a misdemeanour for entering the US Capitol on January 6.
Liberal groups sued to block Republican Representatives Madison Cawthorn and Marjorie Taylor Greene from running for re-election because of their roles on that day. Mr Cawthorn’s case became moot when he lost his primary in 2022, and a judge ruled to keep Ms Greene on the ballot.
Some conservatives warn that, if Mr Trump is removed, political groups will routinely use Section 3 against opponents in unexpected ways.
Mr Trump and his allies have attacked the cases against him as “anti-democratic” and sought to tie them to President Joe Biden because the Colorado case and some others are funded by liberal groups who share prominent donors with the Democratic president. But Mr Biden’s administration has noted that the president has no role in the litigation.
Those who support using the provision against Mr Trump counter that the January 6 attack was unprecedented in American history and that there will be few cases so ripe for Section 3.
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If the high court lets Mr Trump stay on the ballot, they’ve contended, it will be another example of the former president bending the legal system to excuse his extreme behaviour.
Keon Johnson had 21 points and 10 rebounds as the Maine Celtics defeated the Windy City Bulls 122-87 in an NBA G League game on Sunday afternoon at the Portland Expo.
Hason Ward scored 16 points and Jalen Bridges 14 for Maine (13-15), which had seven players score in double digits. Bridges drained four 3-pointers for the Celtics, who shot 13 for 28 (46.4%) from beyond the arc.
Max Shulga dished out 11 assists and scored nine points.
Maine led 33-18 after one quarter 72-36 at halftime.
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Keyshawn Bryant scored a game-high 25 points for Windy City (12-12).
AUGUSTA, Maine (WABI) – An emotional day from Fairfield to Augusta, but felt throughout Maine and beyond, as state officials, community members and loved ones honored the lives of two Department of Transportation workers who tragically died in the field.
Maine DOT Commissioner Dale Doughty described the accident as “the nightmare that commissioners worry about.”
While working on Interstate 95 in January, Maine DOT workers James “Jimmy” Brown, 60, and Dwayne Campbell, 51, died after a driver failed to brake at a stop sign and crashed into a tractor-trailer traveling on the highway.
To honor the men’s commitment to public service and their legacy as fathers, outdoorsmen and Mainers, a procession including DOT officials, family members and more traveled to the Augusta Civic Center Saturday for a memorial service.
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Among those in attendance was Gov. Janet Mills, who remarked on who Brown and Campbell were and their dedication to their profession.
“Jimmy, as you know, worked for the Maine Department of Transportation for 12 years. Dwayne for more than 23 years,” Mills described. “We could count on Jimmy and Dwayne just as we could count on the 1,600 Maine dot workers who keep our roads and bridges safe every day.”
Brown was known for his humor and love of fishing, cars and his children.
Campbell got his start in the DOT by following in his father’s footsteps. Mills said at the service that Campbell loved his daughters and time spent outdoors.
For Commissioner Doughty, losses like this hit hard because of the closely bonded “family business” that DOT is.
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That family expands past state lines, as departments of transportation from New Hampshire and Vermont were present to show their support.
New Hampshire DOT State Maintenance Engineer Alan Hanscom said he called Maine DOT just hours after hearing of the accident to see what his crews could do to help.
“My employees are impacted or subject to the same dangers that Maine and every other state is,” Hanscom said of the importance of his attendance. “I have an employee that was killed in a motor vehicle crash some years ago, so it kind of hits home.”
Saturday’s event served not only as a commemoration but also as a call to action. Despite DOT’s training, Doughty says it is rendered useless if motorists put right-of-way employees in danger through reckless or distracted driving.
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Hanscom expanded: “People don’t realize that this is our office. You’re driving through our office space. We’d like you to give us some consideration and slow down and be mindful of where we are. Give us a little respect.”
Doughty mentioned that these dangers extend beyond DOT workers to everyone who does roadside work. Because of this, he says, agencies must join forces to develop solutions.
“I really think it’s time, and we have a meeting coming up in April, where we pull all agencies and all companies that work in the right-of-way, contractors, utilities, everyone to start to talk about that message,” Doughty said.
On the podium, Doughty told audiences: “Please help us carry forward their memory, not only with tears, but with action.”
On Thursday, the Joint Standing Committee on Transportation authorized the Maine Turnpike Authority to conduct a pilot program for speed enforcement in work zones. The legislation is now headed to the House and Senate.
Despite retaliation from their employer, nurses affirm their commitment to their patients and their union
Over two years since Northern Maine Medical Center (NMMC) first formed their union and began bargaining in good faith for a first contract, nurses remain committed to the patients they serve, and to making their hospital the best place it can be for everyone. Union nurses at NMMC signed the letter they released today, which says in part:
“Over the past two years, you have no doubt heard about the conflict that has grown between the hospital and us.
We want you to know that we never asked for this fight. The initiative to organize our union was to protect ourselves and our patients, not to punish any individuals or the hospital as a whole.”
The nurses’ letter goes on to say that their immediate goals as a union include: winning safe staffing for nurses and patients, promoting transparency and accountability at NMMC, retaining our local providers and staff, and making their hospital sustainable for the long term.
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Terry Caron, RN and member of the nurses’ bargaining team said: “Two years ago, we decided to have a voice for ourselves and our patients by forming our union. The NMMC administration could have met us halfway, but it did not. It has only fought us and tried to punish us for speaking up. But we are as committed to our goals as ever. We will never stop fighting for our patients.”
NMMC nurses were joined today by Maine Senate President Mattie Daughtry, gubernatorial candidate Troy Jackson, and U.S. Senate candidate Graham Platner. They echoed the nurses’ call for NMMC CEO Jeff Zewe to stop his retaliation against the nurses and to finalize the union contract for which the nurses have been bargaining for most of the past two years.
Maine State Nurses Association is part of National Nurses Organizing Committee, representing 4,000 nurses and other caregivers from Portland to Fort Kent. NNOC is an affiliate of National Nurses United, the largest and fastest-growing labor union of registered nurses in the United States with nearly 225,000 members nationwide.
