The conservative Heritage Foundation is preparing to sue Maine’s Democratic Secretary of State Shenna Bellows in the wake of her decision to remove former President Donald Trump from the state’s ballot, the Daily Caller has learned.
The Heritage Foundation’s Oversight Project will be filing a lawsuit against Bellows’ office as part of a broader investigation into efforts to have Trump removed from Republican primary ballots, Heritage Oversight Project Director Mike Howell told the Caller in a statement Friday. (RELATED: Meet The Left-Wing Activist Politician Who Kicked Trump Off The Maine Ballot)
“It is beyond ugly that the radical left is once again reanimating Jim Crow politics. Seeing this trend across the country leads me to believe that Bellows is not acting alone, but instead as part of a potentially criminal conspiracy. We intend to gather evidence to potentially refer to law enforcement. We will be suing on behalf of all Americans very soon in furtherance of our investigation,” Howell said.
WATERLOO, IOWA – DECEMBER 19: Republican presidential candidate and former U.S. President Donald Trump gestures as he wraps up a campaign event on December 19, 2023 in Waterloo, Iowa. Iowa Republicans will be the first to select their party’s nomination for the 2024 presidential race, when they go to caucus on January 15, 2024. (Photo by Scott Olson/Getty Images)
Bellows issued a ruling Thursday night removing Trump from Maine’s ballot based on Section 3 of the 14th Amendment preventing candidates from running for office if they engaged in insurrection. Trump has not been charged with or convicted for engaging in an insurrection.
“So — again, I am so mindful – and I said this in my decision – that it is unprecedented. No secretary of state has ever deprived a presidential candidate of ballot access based on Section Three of the 14th Amendment. But no presidential candidate has ever engaged in insurrection and been disqualified under Section Three of the 14th Amendment,” she told CNN when defending her decision.
Ahead of its planned lawsuit, the Heritage Oversight Project filed a Freedom of Access Act (FOAA) public records request Friday with Bellows’ office. FOAA is Maine’s state law designed for the public to gain access to state and local government records. (RELATED: EXCLUSIVE: Heritage Foundation Sues CIA For Refusing To Hand Over Covid Records)
FOAA REQUEST:
Heritage’s records request includes all records containing the word “Trump” and all communications with Citizens for Responsibility and Ethics in Washington (CREW), the left-wing group behind Colorado’s Supreme Court 4-3 decision to take Trump off the state’s Republican primary ballot.
Colorado’s decision is on hold as the state’s Republican party appeals to the Supreme Court, allowing Trump to temporarily remain on the ballot. (RELATED: There’s A Direct Line Between Joe Biden’s Deep State And Trump Getting Removed From Colorado’s Ballot)
In addition, Heritage is asking for all communications with Congress and communications with email addresses from the Department of Justice (DOJ), Department of Homeland Security (DHS) and the Executive Office of the President (EOP). The records request is limited to records from June 1 to the present.
Trump is leading state and national polls for the 2024 Republican presidential nomination by wide margins, according to the RealClearPolitics polling averages. The former president’s campaign said it would appeal the Maine decision to ensure it does not take effect.
“The Maine Secretary of State is a former ACLU attorney, a virulent leftist and a hyper-partisan Biden-supporting Democrat who has decided to interfere in the presidential election on behalf of Crooked Joe Biden. We are witnessing, in real-time, the attempted theft of an election and the disenfranchisement of the American voter,” Trump campaign spokesman Steven Cheung said in a statement.
“We will quickly file a legal objection in state court to prevent this atrocious decision in Maine from taking effect, and President Trump will never stop fighting to Make America Great Again.”