PORTLAND, Maine — It was another busy week in politics. Our analysts discussed the dramatic end to the legislative session with a spending fight, Gov. Mills' response to fallout from the new 72-hour law, and President Biden taking a tougher stance on Israel.
Gunman's family testifies
It was an intense day of testimony Thursday before the commission investigating the deadly Lewiston shootings. The gunman's family members spoke out, including his sister and ex-wife. Some shared how they tried to get help but never knew they were expected to take his guns or about the threats he made. They were also critical of law enforcement for not doing more.
ZACH: "BJ, does this change things?"
BJ: "Well, look, what we're hearing from the family members is that they wanted additional pathways. And this is exactly what came up this legislative session when lawmakers were debating the red flag, extreme risk protection order laws creating a pathway for family members to have the ability to help people in these situations. And I think what it does show is that there is a true need for that additional path in Maine law. And I hope that in the next session, lawmakers act on that."
ZACH: "Garrett, does it up the ante at all?"
GARRETT: "I think it just shows kind of what we already knew, is that there's, you know, the family should not have to be responsible for taking guns away. They shouldn't have to be responsible, you know, for doing the job of law enforcement. And that was the intent of the yellow flag law, which is now being followed in huge numbers here in the state of Maine that it wasn't followed then. So it's more of like, why wasn't the law followed? And I think it just adds fuel to that fire of law enforcement did not act in the way that they should have. So I just it's heartbreaking to know what they're going through. You know, a family that's been in that town for a very long time. So it's heartbreaking for them."
ZACH: "Genius, aside from the emotional processing of this tragedy, do you expect any accountability on the part of law enforcement?"
GENIUS: "No, to be completely honest, I don't expect that. I will say this: what I would like to see, I guess, to go back to the emotional processing, is that it stands out to me that the family was critical of law enforcement. I think that because of how society plays out and how law enforcement behaves at times, that there's some rebranding and some behavior that needs to happen so that people can and feel comfortable reaching out to them in certain situations. Of course, that didn't happen. And we all experienced a deep tragedy. But do I think that law enforcement will be reprimanded or punished or something? No. To be honest, I don't.
GARRETT: "I disagree. I think that's what this commissioner's all about. I think. I think it's getting the facts, finding out who is at fault, and making sure that there is accountability. So, I mean, I would have to disagree with that. I think that we're trying to find out what happened. And what we do know right now is that the law wasn't followed and that there was a department that needs to be investigated further. And I think we're going to get to the bottom of that."
Mills on pocket vetoes
Gov. Janet Mills is pushing back against criticism for choosing to nix 35 spending bills passed by lawmakers on "Veto Day" last week, essentially issuing a so-called "pocket veto." In a news conference, she said aside from financial concerns, she also questioned the legality of the bills since they were sent to her desk after the end-of-session deadline. The governor says she plans to revisit the unsigned bills in the next legislative session.
ZACH: "Garrett, I keep asking this. Does this point to some serious disconnect between the governor and members of her own party?"
GARRETT: "Yeah, I mean, I think once again, this kind of goes to, we have separation of powers for a reason. You have a governor's branch of the legislative branch. We saw this same exact thing play out when I was in the Legislature and Republicans were in control in the Senate. We had a Republican governor, Paul LePage. There were very similar kind of loggerheads going on at that time. But I think the governor was absolutely right. I mean, we have a statutory adjournment deadline for a reason. I had bills that were coming out of that process in appropriations on that last day. You know, as a lobbyist, that I was very concerned about and wanted to see passed. But as a former legislator, I respect what she did. If you crack that door open and start to allow those things to happen, Veto Day essentially becomes endless. So I think in this case, Gov. Mills was a protector of the legislative institution. And I think she did the absolute right thing. Like I said, I got bills on the table for clients that I was really concerned about, and I'm sure BJ did, too. But I think for the institution, she did the right thing."
ZACH: "Do you agree, BJ?"
GARRETT: "Well, what I will agree with Garrett on is that there is a separation of powers, and he's exactly right. There are similar dynamics with LePage and Republicans when they control the Legislature and even when Democrats control the Legislature. And what ultimately happened was when the executive thought that the legislative branch wasn't doing something appropriate, the judicial branch came in and made that decision. What ultimately comes from this decision, from the governor, is there are a lot of very important bills that will not become law. And if the true concern was whether or not it was constitutional, let the judicial branch decide that. Let the bills pass on their merit."
ZACH: "Genius, a lot of inside baseball here. But was this the right move?"
GENIUS: "I think it was the right move. I wasn't surprised by the move. I didn't actually think that those things were going to go through. I guess we have to wait until next session. And there's a lot of very important bills that are up well down at this point."
Biden-Trump debate
Debates have been scheduled for former President Donald Trump and President Joe Biden. Biden took to TikTok to challenge Trump to a debate. The pair will go head-to-head on CNN on June 27. According to the news organization, the debate will start at 9 p.m. and will be held in their Atlanta studios with no live audience. Biden and Trump have agreed to a second debate on September 10 on ABC.
ZACH: "Genius. Looks like they've also agreed to cut mics if the candidate goes overtime, do you think they'll be able to control the candidates here?
GENIUS: "I think they will witness more control than we normally do in these types of moments. But able to control these candidates? No, I don't think that that is exactly what will happen. I think they will all get something from it. I'll just point out that, you know, talking to my teenagers about this, my daughter tells her brother, you know, my son about this. And he said, get some popcorn. I think that is going to be intense is what I think is going to happen. And I'm here for it and I'm glad they're going to actually debate."
ZACH: "Garrett, the former president obviously understands the power of TV, but is he able is he going to be able to succeed in these settings without that live audience energy he's used to?"
GARRETT: "I just have to point this out. That TikTok video with President Biden, I mean, there was like 14 cuts in that thing. I mean, it was it was bad, you know, that should have never come out of a social media office. But I mean, you know, in answer to your question, I mean, with President Trump, listen, President Trump's been through this rigmarole many times. He knows what he did. Listen, I will be the first to admit in his series of debates in 2020, they weren't great. Like he didn't do a great job. He tried to play the aggravator. It didn't work out. So I think you're going to see the same Donald Trump, but I think his tactics are going to be different. I also think it's great that there is debates that are happening early. We have election month and much to the chagrin of many Republicans, we have election month happening and you need to get those messages out in June, not in September or October. The election's already over by then. So I think it's great that it's early. I think it's important for the American people to pay attention. And unfortunately, it's going to be round two of Trump-Biden."
BJ: "Well, I love the TikTok video, so close to social media, too, but the debate itself will be fascinating to watch because there's such a small number of undecided voters in this election. And so really, they have two different jobs to do. You know, I think that Biden has to do work to reassure the Democratic base that is questioning some of his decisions. And Donald Trump has work to do, not to reassure his base, but to get those Haley voters maybe to come back home. And so they're going to be operating on two different planes, trying to accomplish two different things that aren't mutually exclusive. They both can succeed."
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