AUGUSTA, Maine (AP) - Republican Gov. Paul LePage is attacking a justice for not fulfilling an apparent promise to retire so the governor can fill his seat with a more conservative judge.
The governor on Tuesday released a letter in which LePage claims that Associate Justice Joseph Jabar has reneged on a deal to step down from Maine Supreme Judicial Court after he reached 20 years of service to be eligible for a pension.
LePage said that his former counsel Avery Day witnessed the deal. Day couldn’t be immediately reached Tuesday.
The Bangor Daily News reported a spokeswoman for Maine’s court system declined comment.
LePage announced Jabar’s reappointment in late 2016.
The governor said Jabar is demonstrating dishonesty and a lack of character. LePage faces several state-level lawsuits over his use of gubernatorial authority.
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