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Do you think Maine’s attorney general should be held accountable for not disclosing a relationship with a subordinate?

Maine Senate Democrats say they may investigate Attorney General Aaron Frey’s recently-disclosed relationship with a staffer who was once his subordinate.

The news comes after Frey acknowledged that he has been in a personal relationship with an employee in his office since last summer. In a statement, Frey said the relationship has not violated “any legal rules, office policy or law,” but conceded he made “an error in judgment” by not sooner making sure “we have appropriate boundaries between us.”

Frey said he directed Chief Deputy Attorney General Christopher Taub to “supervise this person moving forward as this personal relationship continues.”

The Maine Attorney General’s Office operates outside the executive branch and is governed by the Legislature. It has its own sexual harassment policy, which does not include any language about relationships between subordinates and supervisors.

Legislative Republicans called on Democrats, who hold the majority of seats in the Legislature and elected Frey, to hold the attorney general accountable. A spokesperson for Senate President Troy Jackson, D-Allagash, criticized Frey’s relationship disclosure for “his lack of transparency,” adding that his actions “reflect poorly on him and the office he holds.”

But what do you think? Maine’s attorney general should be held accountable for not disclosing a relationship with a subordinate? Tell us in the poll and in the comments below.

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