Attorney General Mills responds to Governor's law suit

May 1, 2017

Below is a statement from Attorney General Janet T. Mills in response to the lawsuit filed by the Governor today.

"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."

Supporting documents

Supt of Insurance Decision