New Hampshire's attorney general and secretary of state say they've not taken a position on whether the U.S. Constitution could disqualify former President Donald Trump from appearing on the 2024 Republican presidential primary ballot here.
The statement from Attorney General John Formella and Secretary of State David Scanlan, issued Tuesday, came after a talk radio host suggested they had done just that and urged Trump supporters across the country to flood the Secretary of State office's phone lines with protest calls.
The back-and-forth is part of an ongoing contentious legal debate over whether the 14th Amendment of the Constitution, which bars people from holding office if they've engaged in insurrection or rebellion against the United States, could prevent Trump from serving in the White House again.
In their statement, Formella and Scanlan said the Attorney General’s office was “carefully reviewing” whether the 14th Amendment’s “potential applicability to the upcoming presidential election cycle” and would advise the Secretary of State’s office.
Former Republican Senate candidate Corky Messner — a one-time Trump supporter — has said he may sue to disqualify Trump from getting on the ballot in New Hampshire under the 14th Amendment.
The chairman of the New Hampshire Republican party has promised to fight any effort to keep Trump off the ballot.
