CNN Host Throws Maine Secretary Of State Softballs After Network’s Legal Analyst Slammed Her Night Before

CNN’s Erica Hill threw Maine’s Democratic Secretary of State softball questions Friday hours after CNN’s legal analyst Elie Honig ripped the election official for kicking former President Donald Trump off the ballot.

Democratic Secretary of State Shenna Bellows made the decision based on three challenges related to Trump’s appearance on the ballot. Bellows ruled Trump incited an insurrection and violated Section 3 of the 14th Amendment and was therefore prohibited from holding office.

During a Friday appearance on CNN, Bellows was lobbed softball questions by Hill, who didn’t push back on Bellows for some highly contentious claims she made.

Hill first asked Bellows how she’s responding to criticisms of her decision, with Bellows claiming people don’t understand “the process” and that she has the “power” to control ballots in Maine.

“In terms of the criticism that your decision takes away the right for voters to have their voice heard, do you believe that’s a valid concern?” Hill followed up.

Bellows did not answer the question and instead just argued she has to “uphold the rule of law.”

Hill did not push back or demand an answer to her original question, instead saying Bellows is doing “her job as laid out” in state law and asking whether she’s concerned the state legislature might take action to prevent something similar from happening again.

Bellows said the legislature “can always change the laws.”

Hill then asked Bellows whether she weighed the consideration that Trump should be convicted of an insurrection before he’s punished for the same. Bellows, who is not a lawyer, said she carefully studied the 14th amendment and “determined” that Trump engaged in an insurrection.

Trump has never been formally charged under the criminal statute that Congress laid out in 1948 of engaging in an insurrection.

Bellows went on to say there was an attack on rule of law on Jan. 6 and that the “weight of evidence” she reviewed proves Trump engaged in an insurrection and that Jan. 6 itself was an insurrection.

Hill offered no pushback, criticism or counter points to Bellows and instead asked whether Bellows is “concerned about the fallout” of the possibility that the Supreme Court does not answer the specific question of whether Trump engaged in an insurrection.

The softball interview came just hours after Honig tore into Bellows late Thursday night for her decision based on ‘YouTube clips,” “news reports” and other “things that would never pass the bar in normal court.” (RELATED: CNN Senior Legal Analyst Elie Honig Goes At It With George Conway Over Trump’s Eligibility)

“And I think there’s a question there with regard to what Maine did, because if you look at the hearing, and she details this in the ruling, they heard from one fact witness, a law professor. She based her ruling on a lot of documents, but also YouTube clips, news reports, things that would never pass the bar in normal court. She’s not a lawyer, by the way. It’s a smartly written decision, clearly consulted with lawyers, but this is an unelected– she’s chosen by the state legislature. Chosen, elected by the legislature, but not democratically elected.”

Honig added that Maine’s decision makes it “more likely” the Supreme Court will now take up the Colorado case.

The Colorado Supreme Court ruled Trump was ineligible to appear on the ballot under the 14th Amendment, a decision likely to be appealed to the Supreme Court by Trump. The same question was rejected in Michigan and Minnesota and by secretaries of state in other states.