Maine residents hold protests to demand Susan Collins back impeachment

Maine residents gathered at all six of Sen. Susan Collins’ state offices on Tuesday to demand she support the impeachment and removal of Donald Trump, the Portland Press Herald reported.

In Portland, about 25 residents held a rally and then marched to Collins’ office to submit written comments to the Republican senator.

“I’ve begged Susan Collins to stand up to Trump,” Portland resident Sue Hawes told the Press Herald. “I’m still waiting.”

Rallies organized by Mainers for Accountable Leadership were also held in Augusta, Bangor, Biddleford, Caribou, and Lewiston.

“We expect our House representatives to impeach when the full articles are drafted and we expect our Senators to convict,” the organization wrote on its website.

The protests came less than a week after Collins and other Republican senators met with Trump at the White House. Politico reported that the meetings were a part of a White House outreach effort to potential “jurors” in a possible trial should the House of Representatives vote to impeach Trump.

Trump has been accused of bribery related to withholding critical military funding from Ukraine unless the government opened an investigation into former Vice President Joe Biden and the Democratic National Committee.

Three House committees recently wrapped up months of investigation capped by two weeks of public hearings, and are in the process of producing a report to give to the Judiciary Committee.

Rep. Adam Schiff (D-CA), chair of the Intelligence Committee, wrote in a letter to his colleagues this week that his committee has “uncovered a months-long effort in which President Trump again sought foreign interference in our elections for his personal and political benefit at the expense of our national interest.”

The publicly available evidence was convincing enough for Jo Trofford of Portland.

“I believe President Trump has broken the law and that he believes he’s above the law,” Trofford told the Press Herald. “We need to call him on it.”

While Collins has occasionally broken ranks with Trump, she has been a reliable supporter on many key issues and votes. Collins cast one of the most decisive votes in favor of Supreme Court nominee Brett Kavanaugh, despite multiple credible allegations of sexual assault against Kavanaugh. Kavanaugh has denied each of the accusations.

Collins, who is one of the most unpopular senators in the country, faces a tough reelection in 2020. She has only a 35% approval rating with Maine voters. That’s even worse than Trump, whose approval in the state is at 42%. Earlier this month, Collins lost the endorsement of a key environmental group, the League of Conservation Voters.

Published with permission of The American Independent Foundation.