AUGUSTA, Maine - Gov. Paul LePage's chief legal counsel says Maine's watchdog agency doesn't have the authority to investigate the governor.
The Legislature's Government Oversight Committee plans to meet Wednesday to consider two requests for the agency to investigate whether LePage overstepped his authority by meddling in a charter school's personnel affairs.
Democratic House Speaker Mark Eves says the Republican governor blackmailed Good Will-Hinckley into removing him as president by threatening to withhold $500,000 a year in state funds.
In a letter obtained by the Portland Press Herald on Wednesday, LePage's counsel, Cynthia Montgomery, said the governor and his executive powers aren't subject to oversight by the Office of Program Evaluation and Government Accountability.
She says the agency's role is to evaluate state agencies and programs as well as other governmental and quasi-governmental entities.
