A coalition of Maine organizations representing 20,000+ Mainers from all around the state call on Senator Collins to be principled not calculated. The coalition organized by Mainers for Accountable Leadership includes Indivisible Mount Desert Island, Suit Up Maine, RESIST: Central Maine, Lincoln County Indivisible, Bangor Indivisible, March Forth, Plymouth Indivisible, Women’s March Maine, Women’s March Portland, Indivisible Washington County, Midcoast Maine Indivisible, Indivisible Blue Hill, and Maine Rise Up Be Heard signed on to the following statement:
“Senator Collins must demand a fair impeachment trial and get the facts available to the Senate. It is the Senate’s job to hold Trump accountable for his illegal actions.
To protect our democracy, and our constitution, Trump must be held accountable for putting our democracy at risk. By silently sitting by as Trump abuses his power and breaks the law, Collins isn’t representing Maine’s basic values and she empowers the President to believe he is above the law.
Senator Collins has met with the President about the impeachment trial, she has accepted his help raising money for her re-election campaign, but back at home she has consistently ignored her own constituents, refusing to hear their concerns about impeachment or any other matter facing this Congress, our state and our country.
Senator Collins: we expect you to uphold your oath to protect the Constitution of the United States. You shouldn’t help Trump succeed in hiding crucial evidence and testimony. A trial has witnesses or depositions; this is not negotiable and it is outrageous that we are begging and organizing so that a fair trial occurs in the Senate. The impeachment and the removal of a President is not a partisan issue. It is a constitutional duty. We expect you to do your job.
The country needs a leader, but Senator Collins continues to only play the role of politician.
We call on Senator Collins to: vote for a fair trial that includes witnesses, includes vital evidence, and lifts the White House gag order on key witnesses.”
Senator King who supports a fair and thorough trial told Maine Public Radio Monday January 6th that “I feel, as a person who is going to have to make a decision here as to whether or not the president took actions that are impeachable, the first thing we need to know is what exactly did he do, what was his intention in doing so?”
“We expect Sen. Collins to support a full, fair trial. That means calling for all testimony, demanding the White House release all phone and message transcripts now being withheld, and the appearance of all relevant witnesses, including Bolton, Mulvaney, Blair, and Duffy. Anything less from her is political cowardice and a shirking of her responsibility to preserve the constitution.” – Gordon Adams; non-resident Fellow of the Quincy Institute, Fellow of the Stimson Center and Co-Director Mainers for Accountable Leadership PAC.
