House members ask AG to investigate LePage for abuse of power

Source: Bangor Daily News

AUGUSTA, Maine — Four members of the House of Representatives have made a formal request to Attorney General Janet Mills to open a criminal investigation of Gov. Paul LePage.

Independent Rep. Jeff Evangelos of Friendship and Democrats Ben Chipman of Portland, Charlotte Warren of Hallowell and Pinny Beebe-Center of Rockland said in a letter dated Friday that LePage should be investigated for crimes involving extortion, improper influence, oppression and misuse of entrusted property.

The four representatives, in addition to requesting the investigation by Mills, called for the appointment of a special prosecutor and asked Kennebec County District Attorney Maeghan Maloney, a Democrat, to prosecute LePage for the same official oppression charge she recently filed against a former principal from Waterville who allegedly attempted to have a sexual relationship with a student.

“There is little doubt in our minds that whatever the merits of the Waterville case, the misuse of state assets, $530,000, for the purpose of oppression and extortion, rise well above the issue of the Waterville case,” reads the letter. “The fair and consistent application of Maine’s criminal code requires your action. Otherwise, the erosion of public trust in our law enforcement system will result.”

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Read more: http://bangordailynews.com/2015/12/07/politics/house-members-ask-ag-to-investigate-lepage-for-abuse-of-power/