Gov. Paul LePage and his attorney continue to claim “absolute immunity” for the governor regarding the lawsuit against him by House Speaker Mark Eves, D-North Berwick.
In a legal argument filed Wednesday in U.S. District Court, LePage attorney Patrick Strawbridge rebuffs Eves’ claims on several fronts, many of them centered around whether LePage has immunity from legal action for his role in forcing Eves out of a job at Good Will-Hinckley in Fairfield in June 2015 by threatening to withhold taxpayer funds.
“Flail as he might, the speaker simply cannot state a cognizable claim,” wrote LePage’s legal team. “The issues in this case can be addressed through the political process by the people of Maine, or perhaps in a contract action between the speaker and his former employer. This case should be dismissed.”
The Republican governor’s filing is the latest legal salvo in response to a Feb. 9 filing by Eves’ attorney, David Webbert, which called LePage’s immunity claims “astonishingly broad.” Webbert continued that argument in a written statement on Thursday and called LePage’s argument “dangerous” to the Democratic process.
“The governor’s extreme views are without historical or legal precedent and are contrary to clearly established federal constitutional rights,” wrote Webbert. “The governor wants a one-party government for Maine, without the checks and balances that get in his way, but that is not what our Maine Constitution and our federal Constitution say.”
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