(The Center Square) — A Maine Republican lawmaker has filed a bill to impeach Secretary of State Shenna Bellows for disqualifying former president Donald Trump from the state’s primary ballot.
The legislation calls for forming a special committee to conduct a “comprehensive review of allegations of misconduct” by Bellows over her “actions in and after the adjudicatory proceeding in disqualifying” Trump from the primary ballot.
The bill’s sponsor, Rep. John Andrews, cites Bellow’s bias against Republicans and failing to “recuse herself for bias from that adjudicatory proceeding” as required by Maine laws.
“This bias is evidenced by her serving as a Maine presidential elector for Joseph R. Biden in the 2020 election,” Andrew’s proposal states.
Last week, Bellows issued a decision brought forth by Maine voters to challenge Trump’s primary petition, determining it invalid.
Bellows, a Democrat, said the former president is not qualified to hold the office of president over his involvement in the Jan. 6, 2021 attack on the U.S. Capitol.
She said her decision, prompted by a challenge from a group of Maine voters, was based on a clause of the 14th Amendment of the U.S. Constitution, which bars anyone who “engaged” in “insurrection or rebellion” against the federal government from office.
Trump, the front-runner in a crowded field of GOP candidates, is facing four criminal trials, including one over his alleged role in the Capitol attack. He has denied any wrongdoing and appealed Bellow’s decision to disqualify him from the primary ballot in state Superior Court.
“The Secretary is a completely biased Democrat partisan and a Biden supporter who is incapable of making a fair decision and allowing the people of Maine the right to vote for the candidate of their choosing,” Trump’s campaign said in a statement. “Any attempt to remove President Trump’s name from the ballot is blatant election interference.”
Bellows has defended the move and denied that partisanship played a role in the decision.
But House Minority Leader Billy Bob Faulkingham ripped Bellows’ ruling on Trump’s qualifications as a “sham” and accused the secretary of state of being a “partisan hack.”
“This is a sham decision that mimics third world dictatorships,” he said in a statement “It will not stand legal scrutiny. People have a right to choose their leaders devoid of mindless decisions by partisan hacks.”
