AUGUSTA, Maine - The Maine House has begun a sometimes contentious debate this morning on whether to investigate Gov. Paul LePage, a move that could lead to the impeachment of the Republican chief executive.
A group led by Democratic Rep. Ben Chipman, of Portland, wants to punish the outspoken governor for eight counts of alleged abuse of power.
While the best known of these are actions by the governor that led a charter school operator to withdraw a job offer from Maine House Speaker Mark Eves, Chipman mentioned others.
"I wish the chief executive didn't use as leverage to bring about the resignation in 2013 of the World Acadian Congress," he said. "The representative will defer."
That led House Republican leader Ken Fredette to ask the presiding offer to instruct Chipman to present the items as allegations, rather than as statements of fact, "because there's been nothing proven in regards to what he's suggesting. Thank you."
LePage has said he did nothing wrong, and that the attacks on him amount to a "witch hunt.''
