Rep. Pingree calls for vote on legislation to protect Mueller investigation.
Maine’s politicians are divided about how best to respond to the guilty plea Tuesday by President Donald Trump’s former lawyer that implicated the president in illegal payoffs to two women with whom Trump allegedly had affairs to keep them quiet before 2016’s election.
While at least one candidate is calling for Congress to impeach Trump and remove him from office, most aren’t ready to go that far.
“It does not rise to that level,” 2nd District U. S. Rep. Bruce Poliquin said Wednesday. He said he is looking forward to a quick resolution of investigations into interference with the presidential race, which he called “the core matter” facing Robert Mueller, the special prosecutor tapped last year to look into allegations of improper contacts between Trump’s campaign and Russia.
One of his challengers, though, isn’t content to wait.
Tiffany Bond, an independent, said that while the investigation should be completed before any decision on impeachment is made, Congress should take one step now.
“Given the nature of the allegations and the amount of information in the public, we should not seat any further Supreme Court justices at this time,” she said.
“It is incredibly inappropriate to be confirming anyone for lifetime appointments that may have any input into the outcome of this investigation,” Bond said.
U. S. Senate hopeful Eric Brakey, a Republican, said he is firmly opposed to impeachment.
“There are people in this country, like both my Democrat opponents, who decided the moment that President Trump was elected that he should be impeached,” said Brakey, who is challenging independent U. S. Sen. Angus King in a Nov. 6 election.
“Like the mad Queen of Hearts in Alice in Wonderland, Trump derangement syndrome has the Washington establishment crying, ‘sentence first- verdict afterwards.’” Brakey said.
The Democrat in the race, Zak Ringelstein, has a different take.
He said the plea deal with Cohen “has made it clear that the greatest threat to America is the president himself.”
“Congress needs to finally perform its constitutional duty by impeaching and removing Donald J. Trump from office,” Ringelstein said. “This is not a partisan decision; it’s a patriotic one that will preserve our republic for generations to come.”
Poliquin said, though, that Americans “must respect the judicial process. To date, these court actions do not relate to the independent investigations that have been conducted by the U. S. House, the Senate, or the core matter before the special counsel’s office, which is interference in our elections.”
“I remain focused on our national security, ensuring we protect our elections here in Maine and in the United States,” the two-term Republican said. “I look forward to a swift conclusion to all investigations into election interference to make sure that it never happens again.”
U. S. Rep. Chellie Pingree, a 1st District Democrat, focused on protecting Mueller’s probe.
Since Trump’s “personal lawyer, campaign manager, and former national security advisor are all guilty of federal crimes, she said, “Congress must pass legislation to protect the Mueller investigation and be a check on the president so that he cannot abuse his power by pardoning his associates or firing those who are investigating him, his family, staff, and campaign organization.”
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