In a 4 p.m. press release, Gov. Paul LePage said he filed suit against Maine Attorney General Janet Mills, alleging abuse of power. The complaint, filed today in Kennebec County Superior Court, alleges that Mills abused her power by refusing to legally represent the Executive Branch in law court. Mill’s responded two hours later and said that she had never denied the governor’s ability to retain outside counsel, and that her duty is to represent the public interest.

LePage had said in his release that: “The Attorney General’s office has repeatedly refused to represent the administration in court cases she does not agree with politically. Her refusal to provide legal representation of the State, in accordance with statute, leaves all State agencies, the Governor and the Executive Branch without legal representation. These refusals have resulted in hundreds of thousands of dollars in outside attorney fees, which Maine taxpayers are forced to pay.”

He continued: “It is no secret that Attorney General Mills and I have differing political views, but that is not the issue. The problem is she has publicly denounced court cases which the Executive Branch has requested to join and subsequently refuses to provide legal representation for the State. This clear abuse of power prevents the Chief Executive from carrying out duties that in his good faith judgment is in the best interest of the people of Maine.

“When President Donald Trump issued two Executive orders relating to immigration Attorney Mills publicly opposed the first of the two orders and joined in an amicus curiae brief in opposition to it in the case of Washington v. Trump. Meanwhile, as Chief Executive, Governor LePage agreed with the President’s efforts to control immigration as a measured and appropriate action to protect the people of Maine and to enforce the laws. The Governor requested to file a countervailing brief in Washington v. Trump and requested approval from the Office of the Attorney General. AG Mills delayed and obstructed the process, preventing the Governor from receiving timely counsel on behalf of the people of Maine.

“The statute that defines the duties and authority of the Attorney General under the Maine Constitution (M.R.S. SS 191(3) states that representation by Attorney General or a deputy, assistant or staff attorney shall appear for the State…in all the courts of the State and in those actions and proceedings before any other tribunal when requested by the Governor…All such actions and proceedings must be prosecuted or defended by the Attorney General or under the Attorney General’s direction…

“Also, stated, the officers or agencies of the State may not act at the expense of the State as counsel, nor employ private counsel except upon prior written approval of the Attorney General.

“In a separate matter of the court, but related to the second immigration Executive Order issued by the President, the Office of the Attorney General mandated the Office of the Governor bear the cost of legal fees for outside counsel, or otherwise as appropriated by the Legislature. The Attorney General also indicated that a licensed attorney within the Office of the Governor should insure outside counsel carries adequate malpractice insurance and should review all the invoices submitted by outside counsel for reasonableness.

“Shifting the financial burden to the Governor is not only inappropriate, but the Attorney General also imposed improper conditions on the authority by which the Governor shall be represented in the litigation.

“The vast majority of states, 43 to be exact, avoid this scenario by holding statewide elections to fill the office of the Attorney General. Five states allow the Governor to appoint the Attorney General, again avoiding this situation.”

Attorney General Janet T. Mills responded to the allegations, saying:

"The Attorney General represents state government and the public interest in thousands of matters every year. The Maine Supreme Judicial Court has recognized the unique role of the Attorney General as an independent Constitutional Officer and her duty to represent the public interest. Superintendent of Insurance v. Attorney General, 558 A.2d 1197 (Me. 1989).

“The Attorney General has never denied the Governor the ability to retain outside counsel in any particular matter. We have simply said that whoever the Governor chooses should be licensed to practice law and should carry malpractice insurance, two common sense prerequisites which any prudent business person would employ as well. Instead of signing onto another party's brief at no cost to the taxpayers, however, or hiring a lawyer to draft his own brief, the Governor has wasted state resources by hiring a lawyer to file a frivolous law suit, complaining that he cannot do exactly what we have told him he can do."