Donald Trump has filed an appeal against a decision to disqualify him from the 2024 presidential primary election ballot in Maine, accusing a top state official of bias against the Republican frontrunner.
Maine’s Secretary of State Shenna Bellows had concluded that the former president’s incendiary words to a Capitol Hill crowd in January 2021, and false claims about voter fraud in the 2020 election, amounted to "insurrection" against the federal government.
The Supreme Court is still expected to weigh in on the decision by Ms Bellows, and a similar finding by judges in Colorado a week earlier. But prior to its likely intervention, the Trump campaign appealed to the Maine Superior Court.
The appeal demanded that Trump be reinstated on the March 5 primary ballot in Maine, accusing the Democratic Ms Bellows of abusing her position and relying 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," his lawyers wrote.
Lawyers for the former president have disputed that he engaged in insurrection and argued that his remarks to supporters on the day of the deadly January 2021 riot in Congress were protected by his right to free speech.
Ms Bellows insisted: "This is part of the process. I have confidence in my decision and confidence in the rule of law.
“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."
Trump's critics have filed dozens of lawsuits seeking to disqualify him in several states.
None had succeeded until a 4-3 majority of Colorado's seven top justices ruled against Trump last month. It was the first time that the Civil War insurrection provision in the US constitution had been invoked to bar a presidential contender from the ballot.
Colorado is reliably Democratic so the ruling won’t sway the 2024 election. But Trump earned one of Maine's four Electoral College votes in 2020.
The use of the insurrection clause in the US constitution is one of several election-related cases likely to end up with the Supreme Court, whose 6-3 conservative majority includes three justices nominated by Trump.
The Republican has been indicted in both a federal case and in Georgia for his role in trying to overturn the 2020 election, but he has not been charged with insurrection related to the January 6 riot.
He leads opinion polls by a large margin in the race for the Republican nomination as he seeks a rematch against President Joe Biden.
