Maine's GOP Governor LePage is punishing a major state newspaper group that exposed his DEP Commissioner Patricia Aho as a shill for her former lobbying clients. He will give them "no comment" from now on.
"PORTLAND, Maine -- Maine's blunt-spoken governor doesn't mince words when opponents dare to cross him but he's saved some of his harshest criticism for newspapers, once telling schoolchildren he isn't a fan of papers and another time saying that reading one is 'like paying somebody to tell you lies.'
Now it's gone to an extreme, with Republican Gov. Paul LePage and his administration cutting off comments to three newspapers including one serving the state's biggest city.
Adrienne Bennett, the governor's press secretary, said Wednesday that it was her decision to give a blanket 'no comment' to the Portland Press Herald, the Kennebec Journal in the state capital of Augusta and the Morning Sentinel in Waterville, where LePage once served as mayor. All three daily newspapers are part of MaineToday Media Inc. ...
The announcement from the governor's office was made after a Press Herald investigation of Department of Environmental Protection Commissioner Patricia Aho, a former lobbyist portrayed as working behind the scenes to roll back environmental laws and regulations opposed by her former clients in the chemical, drug, oil, and real estate industries. "
David Sharp reports for the Associated Press June 19, 2013.
SEE ALSO:
"LePage Issues New Policy: No More Talking To 3 Newspapers" (Portland Press Herald)
"Maine Gov. LePage's Media Blackout" (Politico)
"Maine Governor Blacklists Newspapers After They Expose Administration’s Anti-Environment Commissioner" (Climate Progress)
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