Democratic Senate candidate Graham Platner laid out an aggressive political agenda ahead of a high-stakes Maine primary race. The outsider oyster farmer detailed sweeping plans targeting the Trump administration, the Supreme Court, and Democratic Party leadership in a wide-ranging interview with NBC News.
Graham Platner calls to investigate Donald Trump
Graham Platner, a Democratic Senate candidate from Maine, wants to investigate the Trump administration if elected. He told NBC News he plans to use subpoena power to hold White House officials accountable for alleged illegal conduct.
“I want to shut the White House down,” Platner said. “I want us to, for the next two years, be dragging every single person in the White House, every single person in all these agencies that have been conducting themselves in illegal and unconstitutional ways.”
The oyster farmer and outsider candidate leads both Democratic rival Gov. Janet Mills and Republican Sen. Susan Collins in recent polls. Platner also called for imposing ethics standards on the Supreme Court and pursuing impeachment against Justices Clarence Thomas and Samuel Alito.
“The relationship between Clarence Thomas and Harlan Crow is not hard to see as clearly corrupt, and Justice Thomas doesn’t even recuse himself from cases that impact Crow’s businesses,” he said. “These are absolutely reasons for removal.”
Platner said Trump has “absolutely” committed impeachable offenses, citing “rank corruption” and “crypto scams.” He added that Democrats should focus on investigations rather than impeachment without enough Senate votes to convict.
The candidate also called for replacing Senate Minority Leader Chuck Schumer and organizing an anti-war movement against Trump’s military campaign in Iran. He floated Sens. Chris Van Hollen, Mark Kelly, Chris Murphy, and Brian Schatz as potential replacements.
Platner positioned himself as an heir to Sen. Bernie Sanders, who has endorsed him in the competitive primary. He said he wants to continue Sanders’ political legacy around wealth inequality and corporate influence.
Collins campaign spokesperson Shawn Roderick responded that Platner “has already proven that he’s willing to say anything to get elected.” At the time of writing, the White House has not commented on the allegations.
Originally reported by Vritti Johar on Mandatory.com.
