Democratic Rep. Ben Chipman of Portland, Maine has submitted a measure to impeach Gov. Paul LePage over the Republican’s alleged abuse of power dealing with a charter school operator, according to The Associated Press.
LePage made headlines last week after he made racist comments about “young White” girls being impregnated by Black drug dealers in Maine, a mostly White state.
Chipman submitted the impeachment order last week; it comes on the heels of a furor over LePage’s racist comments, which were made Wednesday at a town hall speech.
The impeachment order could be debated on the House floor as early as Thursday, notes the report.
From The AP:
Some lawmakers insist the Legislature must take some sort of action, whether it’s censure or impeachment, to punish LePage for using his influence to pressure a charter school operator into rescinding a job offer to House Speaker Mark Eves, a Democrat.
Chipman said he has eight co-sponsors for his proposal to create a special committee to investigate that incident and seven others in which the governor allegedly overstepped his authority. The panel would issue its recommendations to lawmakers by April 1.
Chipman said he thinks the investigation will show a pattern of abuse of power, misuse of public assets, official oppression and other violations.
The governor’s spokeswoman declined to comment, calling the allegations “frivolous.”
SOURCE: NBC News | PHOTO CREDIT: Getty | VIDEO CREDIT: Inform
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