Wyoming Secretary of State Chuck Gray says an attempt by a retired lawyer to have him removed from office is “outrageous,” without merit and “the radical left’s attempt to weaponize the judicial process.”
Tim Newcomb, the Laramie Democrat who is suing to have Gray ousted under the 14th Amendment, claims Gray’s continued support of President Donald Trump and his insistence that the 2020 election was rigged means he supports “insurrection.”
Newcomb also called Gray a bully who has targeted him before when he unsuccessfully challenged Trump’s eligibility to be on the Wyoming ballot.
After that, Gray “sent his goons after me, his MAGA goons,” Newcomb said, adding that all the secretary of state “does is talk and take away people’s rights.”
Gray issued a statement Wednesday responding to a Feb. 19 petition to the Wyoming District Court to expedite a hearing to show the 14th Amendment to the U.S. Constitution “forbids this Wyoming Secretary of State from holding state office.”
Gray was blunt, saying he intends to file a motion to dismiss the complaint and that Newcomb “has a track record of this outrageously wrong behavior.”
He said Newcomb was wrong to try and keep Trump off the 2024 Wyoming ballot and he’s wrong now.
“He doesn’t like the guys who are effective, conservatives who are effective,” Gray told Cowboy State Daily. “It’s meritless, but I think this trend is going to continue. This portends a trend, but it’s meritless, obviously.”
Retaliation?
The secretary of state also said Newcomb’s latest court filing feels like retaliation for Gray’s opposition to his failed effort to keep Trump off the ballot.
“I think it is in retaliation from us defending our American values, our conservative values,” he said. “So, they use the judicial process to attack effective conservatives like myself.”
Newcomb said Gray “has some things to answer for in court, not the press,” and that he believes he has a strong case.
“He is Wyoming’s Donald Trump, and we’ll see what happens,” he said. “He gave aid and comfort to Trump’s ‘start the steal,’ and the 14th Amendment requires him be removed from office, as all insurrectionists should be.”
Gray said “this outrageously wrong lawsuit” won’t get that far.
“In the coming days, I will be filing a motion to dismiss this leftist attempt to interfere with our republic,” he said in his statement. “The weaponization of the 14th Amendment by the radical left to try and remove political opponents from office undermines the sanctity of the Constitution.”
Greg Johnson can be reached at greg@cowboystatedaily.com.
