AUGUSTA, Maine - The state's Government Oversight Committee is being formally asked by Republican, independent and Democratic lawmakers to launch an investigation into whether the LePage administration has "crossed legal or ethical lines" in getting Democratic House Speaker Mark Eves dismissed from his new job.
In a letter to the committee, Republican Sen. Tom Saviello said "recent reports, if accurate, offer a chilling example of a potential overstep of executive authority."
With the governor now admitting that he intervened with Eves' employer, and with allegations swirling that he may have broken the law, Republican Sen. Saviello says it's time to clarify what occurred.
"I think it's important for my side of the aisle to step up and say, 'You know, we're concerned about this, that we're Republicans and we feel we need to get an answer," Saviello says. "And it may well be that the governor was well within his authority to do what he did, but we just need to get that answer."
So Saviello has asked OPEGA to conduct an inquiry. OPEGA is known formally as the Office of Program Evaluation and Government Accountability. It has an equal number of Democrats and Republicans who, among other things, evaluate compliance with laws, regulations, policies and procedures.
Saviello says he's deeply troubled by reports that suggest the administration may have withheld state funding for the Good Will-Hinckley school for political purposes. Other lawmakers share that concern.
"We feel that the use of $530,000 of public funds to blackmail a school into firing somebody from a position is a crime, and today we took a step towards bringing accountability to the governor and holding him accountable for his actions," says Rep. Ben Chipman, an independent from Portland.
Chipman, along with independent Jeff Evangelos of Friendship and Democrat Charlotte Warren of Hallowell, is also asking for a formal investigation by the Government Oversight Committee. In addition, because this type of inquiry is unprecedented in Maine, Warren says the group is also working with the Revisor's Office to make sure they pursue all options available from the House floor.
And then there's the possibility of a criminal investigation. Maine Attorney General Janet Mills, a Democrat, has reportedly said she's troubled by the governor's actions. But Mills has been publicly at odds with the governor over some of his recent priorities. Such an investigation could put her in an awkward position. Warren says there are other options.
"Does the attorney general appoint a special prosecutor, somebody that's seen as possibly more neutral?" she says. "But another idea that we've all bandied about is the idea of what about a former governor - former Gov. Brennan, former Gov. McKernan and former Chief Justice Wathen, three very well respected, retired individuals, a committee that folks trust, that's separate from the current Legislature, that can really do the work to get to the bottom of this issue?"
A spokesman for the attorney general said he could not comment on any action that may or may not be taken with regard to the Gov. LePage - Good Will-Hinckley matter, but Tim Feeley also said that the statute does not prohibit coordination between the AG's office and OPEGA.
Meanwhile, House Majority Leader Jeff McCabe of Skowhegan says he welcomes Republican Sen. Saviello's leadership on the LePage matter. "It's just more proof of what many House Democrats have been hearing from citizens back home - Democrats, Republicans and independents - that, really, folks are just uncomfortable with the behavior of the governor. It's just truly unethical and a possible violation of law."
McCabe says all options are on the table for exploring what occurred.
