Maine Attorney General Aaron Frey on Tuesday in the Hall of Flags of The Maine State House in Augusta. Joe Phelan/Kennebec Journal

Maine’s attorney general said Tuesday the president of the United States is circumventing federal law through his executive orders.

But Aaron Frey isn’t worried yet about whether Donald Trump will shrug off court rulings Frey and other states’ attorneys general have won against the administration.

At a telephone town hall discussion Tuesday night, Frey and Rep. Chellie Pingree, D-1st District, laid out several of the cases Frey has filed against the Trump administration on Maine’s behalf, related to privacy issues, citizenship and access to federal funding.

More than 130 lawsuits have been brought against the administration since Inauguration Day, said Pingree, more than three dozen of which have resulted in decisions to temporarily pause Trump’s orders.

“One of the most important tools we have is the legal strategy,” Pingree said.

In five of the multistate lawsuits Frey is involved in, states have received a court order against Trump and other federal agencies tasked with enforcing his demands. The White House has been ordered to reverse decisions to freeze federal funding to Maine and to step back on plans to end “birthright citizenship” for anyone born in the United States to undocumented parents.

So far, Frey said the White House has complied, even as the administration continues to appeal each ruling.

WHAT IF TRUMP IGNORES COURT ORDERS?

Some participants in the town hall are concerned that the Trump administration won’t always play by the rules.

“What is going to  be the ultimate decider here?” one participant, Karen, asked Frey Tuesday night. (Speakers were asked to identify themselves only by their first names.) “What actually will enforce these laws that they decide not to follow, or decisions?”

Trump recently derided U.S. District Judge James E. Boasberg on social media, after Boasberg blocked Trump’s order for deportation flights.

Trump called for Boasberg’s impeachment, which spurred Chief Justice John Roberts of the United States Supreme Court to issue a rare statement rejecting any calls for impeachment.

Frey said concerns about this are legitimate — but so far, he and others have successfully compelled the Trump administration to comply with court orders in their respective cases.

“There is a lot of work that’s going to go into making sure that the president follows the law,” Frey said. “I’m not going to worry about this until we see citizens saying it’s OK for the president not to follow the law. … We’re not there yet. I’m not sure we’re ever going to get there.”

Frey also knocked talk of a Republican effort in Congress to limit judges’ authority and the scope of their rulings.

“It seems like it’s a waste of time, and frankly I think they forget that when President (Joe) Biden was president, there were a lot of people going to court to have their rights worked out,” Frey said. “By the way, impeaching people because they make decisions they don’t like? It starts with judges, but then what?”

TITLE IX INVESTIGATION

The White House recently gave Maine until the end of the week to respond to two investigations, finding that the state’s policy for transgender athletes violates national law.

Frey’s office is responsible for representing the state and has had experience with similar inquiries from the federal government.

But he said Tuesday he was shocked by how fast the Trump administration concluded Maine was in violation of Title IX – and how quickly it occurred after the president traded barbs with Gov. Janet Mills.

“To be clear, this targeting of Maine is not just hurting Democrats, it’s not just hurting Governor Mills,” Frey said. “It’s hurting Republicans, it’s hurt independents, it’s hurting green, it’s hurting old and it’s hurting young. This is hurting the people of Maine, and the fact that the people of Maine seem to be dispensable pawns for the president of the United States, so he can demand an apology — I’m not sure about you, but to me that has never been OK.”