The Maine Superior Court ruled on Wednesday to delay former President Donald Trump’s removal from the state’s primary ballot until the United States Supreme Court reaches a decision on a related case next month. The ruling pauses Maine Secretary of State Shenna Bellows’ efforts to remove Trump as a primary candidate based on his alleged role in the January 6th Capitol riot.
As Valuetainment previously reported, Bellows determined that the 14th Amendment of the United States Constitution disqualifies Trump from holding office given his participation in an “insurrection” after the 2020 election. At the time, Bellows indicated that she was aware of the lack of precedent for her ruling, but also claimed to be defending democracy.
“I do not reach this conclusion lightly…I am mindful that no Secretary of State has ever deprived a presidential candidate of ballot access based on Section 3 of the Fourteenth Amendment,” she wrote in her 34-page decision. “I am also mindful, however, that no presidential candidate has ever before engaged in insurrection.”
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Trump’s ballot removal in Maine came shortly after a similar decision from the Supreme Court in Colorado, which ruled 4-3 to remove him from the ballot. That case has since been taken up by the U.S. Supreme Court, which will begin to hear oral arguments on February 8th. Colorado Secretary of State Jena Griswold reluctantly delayed the removal process pending this decision.
On Wednesday, Superior Court Justice Michaela Murphy did likewise, remanding the matter to Sec. Bellows’ office but ordering a delay until the outcome of the Colorado case is made public. While the Maine decision has not yet been appealed to the high court, the precedent established by the ruling on Colorado will likely determine the outcome of that process.
According to Judge Murphy, the Supreme Court hearing “changes everything about the order in which these issues should be decided, and by which court.”
“While it is impossible to know what the Supreme Court will decide, hopefully it will at least clarify what role, if any, state decision-makers, including secretaries of state and state judicial officers, play in adjudicating claims of disqualification brought under Section Three of the 14th Amendment,” she wrote.
Related: Man Behind Trump 14th Amendment Challenges Arrested on Federal Tax Charges
The result also “minimizes any potentially destabilizing effect of inconsistent decisions and will promote greater predictability in the weeks ahead of the primary election,” and Murphy therefore concludes that “the remand of this matter is in the public interest.”
However, Murphy also declined Trump’s request to “supplement the record” and denied his motion to delay the proceedings indefinitely.
“Today, Maine’s Superior Court ruled to keep President Trump’s name on the ballot pending a decision from the Supreme Court of the United States in the Colorado case,” said a statement from the Trump campaign. The statement continued:
“This is a correct action, and we remain steadfast in our opposition to these bad-faith shams. President Trump is confident that we will ultimately prevail with a fair ruling on the issues in front of the Supreme Court. In states across the country, Crooked Joe Biden and his Democrat apparatchiks, through Soros-funded front groups, have weaponized the institutions of government to interfere in the upcoming election and disenfranchise over a hundred million voters.
The Democrats are desperate to cling to power by any means necessary. We will not stop fighting the remaining bogus, bad-faith 14th Amendment ballot challenges and President Trump looks forward to winning the state of Maine later this year, being re-elected in November, and he will Make America Great Again.”
Connor Walcott is a staff writer covering politics, culture, and business for Valuetainment.com. Follow Connor on X (Twitter).
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