Maine AG to State Employees: Do Not Cooperate with Justice Department Investigators

By Steve Robinson

February 18, 2025

Updated:February 18

Maine’s Attorney General has instructed employees of at least one state agency to avoid cooperating with officials from the U.S. Department of Justice or the U.S. Attorney’s Office, according to a Jan. 10 email obtained by the Maine Wire.

“All DHHS Departments have received a directive from the Office of the Attorney General (OAG) advising staff that if an attorney, or anyone else, from the Department of Justice or the U.S. Attorney’s Office reach out looking to meet or seeking information, staff should not respond,” the author of the email said.

Instead, they should forward the correspondence to their supervisor and the Superintendent’s office. The Superintendent’s office will then reach out to the appropriate Assistant Attorney General (AAG) to advise,” the email said.

“If the communication happens to occur over the phone, staff should tell the individual that they cannot provide information at this time and will need to speak with counsel first,” the email said.

The directive, which was provided by a recipient to State Rep. Barbara Bagshaw (R-Windham) and shown to the Maine Wire, appears to be applicable to all DHHS employees; however, the email above was distributed only to a subset of DHHS workers.

An official from Frey’s office did not respond to an email seeking comment regarding the directive.

The email is dated Jan. 10 — ten days before President Donald Trump was sworn in to begin his second term in office.

The email suggests Maine Attorney General Aaron Frey (D) was anticipating that the incoming Trump Administration and a potential new U.S. Attorney for the District of Maine, appointed by Trump rather than his predecessor, would be conducting an investigation that might ensnare Maine’s largest department of state government.

The email also suggests that Frey was looking to obstruct or complicate whatever investigations might be coming down the pike, or at the very least, prevent potential whistleblowers from cooperating with the Trump Administration.

Since his inauguration, the Trump Administration has launched a full court press against left-wing state governments for defying federal law, as well as unprecedented investigations into fraudulent government spending.

The new Department of Justice, headed up by U.S. Attorney General Pam Bondi, has also shown a willingness to enforce the laws against top ranking state officials.

On Feb. 12 the DOJ filed a lawsuit against New York State, Gov. Kathy Hochul (D), Attorney General Letitia James (D), and Department of Motor Vehicles Commissioner Mark Schroeder (D).

The lawsuit challenges New York’s “Green Light Law,” which permits undocumented immigrants to obtain driver’s licenses and restricts the sharing of DMV information with federal immigration authorities without a judicial warrant.

The DOJ contends that this law undermines federal immigration enforcement and violates the Supremacy Clause of the U.S. Constitution.

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