AG: Secretary of State lacks authority to refuse Trump spot on primary ballot

N.H. Attorney General John Formella (Courtesy photo)

CONCORD - New Hampshire's Attorney General declared today that he does not believe the Secretary of State's Office has the authority to remove President Trump from the ballot over Section Three of the Fourteenth Amendment concerns raised by many Democrat leaders in the House and Senate.
The language in the Fourteenth amendment asserts that no onc can serve in public office, including president if they "shall have engaged in insurrection or rebellion" against the country," but Attorney General John Formella said there is nothing in state law that "empowers or permits the Secretary of State to engage in independent investigation or to conduct an adjudicative process related to a candidates' qualification under Section Three."
Trump has never been convicted of any crime, state or federal.
Formella's opinion was meant to clarify his views on whether it would be proper for New Hampshire's Secretary of State's Office to even consider such a course of action.
"In circumstances where a presidential primary candidate has not been convicted or otherwise adjudicated guilty of conduct that would disqualify that candidate under Section Three, I conclude that New Hampshire law does not give the Secretary of State discretion to decline to place a presidential primary candidate's name on the ballot based on an alleged Section Three disqualification," Formella said in a statement released around 11 a.m. today.