Listen to the article
Maine Senate Candidate Platner Calls for White House Subpoenas, Supreme Court Impeachments
Graham Platner, the Democratic frontrunner for Maine’s Senate primary, has outlined an aggressive agenda that includes widespread subpoenas of White House officials and the impeachment of Supreme Court Justices Clarence Thomas and Samuel Alito, according to a recent interview with NBC News.
“I want to shut the White House down,” Platner told NBC in an interview published Wednesday. “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. They need to be dragged by subpoena in front of Senate committees over and over and over again.”
Among the officials Platner targeted were those involved in Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) operations in U.S. cities and military personnel participating in Caribbean anti-narcoterrorism bombing campaigns, which he characterized as “murder.”
The Maine Democrat also expressed support for the impeachment of Supreme Court Justices Thomas and Alito, focusing particularly on Thomas’s relationship with Republican mega-donor Harlan Crow. “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,” Platner stated. “These are absolutely reasons for removal.”
Thomas amended his 2019 financial disclosures in 2024 following a ProPublica report revealing that Crow had paid for his lodging and transportation on trips to Indonesia and California. Thomas claimed the omissions occurred because he believed they fell under the “personal hospitality” exemption, which states that gifts from friends without business before the Court need not be reported.
Additionally, the report revealed that Thomas sold three Savannah, Georgia properties to Crow for $133,000 in 2014. The justice defended not listing the sales, saying that after spending over $50,000 on renovations, the transaction resulted in a financial loss.
While Platner did not specify grounds for impeaching Justice Alito, the justice faced criticism in 2023 for a previously undisclosed 2009 private jet trip funded by billionaire Paul Singer. Alito defended himself, arguing that the trip “would not cause a reasonable and unbiased person to doubt my ability to decide the matters in question impartially.”
Other justices have also amended financial disclosures, including Justice Sonia Sotomayor, who updated her 2016 disclosure to include six university-funded trips, and Justice Ketanji Brown Jackson, who corrected a decade of filings during her nomination process to include her husband’s consulting income and other omitted items.
Platner also voiced support for expanding the Supreme Court, a position gaining popularity among progressives. However, he opposed impeaching former President Trump without sufficient Senate votes for conviction, saying, “If we don’t have the votes in the Senate to convict, I don’t think we should waste our time with it.”
In a challenge to Democratic leadership, Platner stated he does not want to see Senate Minority Leader Chuck Schumer continue in his role. Schumer has publicly endorsed Platner’s primary opponent, Maine Governor Janet Mills. Platner suggested several potential replacements, including Senators Chris Murphy (D-Conn.), Mark Kelly (D-Ariz.), Brian Schatz (D-Hawaii), and Chris Van Hollen (D-Md.).
Despite leading in polls against both Mills and incumbent Republican Senator Susan Collins, Platner’s campaign has faced significant controversies. Most notably, he recently addressed having a chest tattoo resembling Nazi iconography. In October, he covered the skull-and-crossbones tattoo that resembled the Totenkopf symbol used by Hitler’s SS forces. Platner claimed he got the tattoo while drunk in Croatia during his military service and was unaware of its Nazi association until media reports emerged in 2024. He has stated his intention to remove it.
Platner, a self-described progressive backed by Senators Bernie Sanders and Elizabeth Warren, as well as Representative Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez, is a combat veteran who served three tours in Iraq as a Marine and one in Afghanistan with the Maine National Guard.
Fact Checker
Verify the accuracy of this article using The Disinformation Commission analysis and real-time sources.
15 Comments
This is an ambitious and controversial agenda from the Maine Senate candidate. While I can appreciate the desire for greater accountability, the calls for a White House shutdown and Supreme Court impeachments seem quite extreme. I wonder how the candidate plans to navigate the political landscape and build consensus around these proposals.
The candidate’s advocacy for aggressive oversight and even impeachment of Supreme Court justices is certainly bold. However, these proposals seem quite radical and could further polarize an already divided political landscape. I’d be interested to learn more about the legal justifications and the candidate’s strategy for advancing these ideas in a constructive way.
This is a striking and controversial agenda from the Maine Senate candidate. While I appreciate the desire for accountability, the proposals to shut down the White House and impeach Supreme Court justices seem quite extreme. I wonder how the candidate plans to navigate the political landscape and build consensus around these bold ideas.
The candidate’s call for widespread subpoenas and Supreme Court impeachments is sure to stir up a lot of debate. While I agree that government officials should be held accountable, these actions could set a concerning precedent and worsen partisan tensions. I’d be interested to learn more about the candidate’s rationale and how they plan to build consensus around these proposals.
This is certainly a bold and controversial agenda from the Democratic Senate candidate in Maine. While I can understand the desire for oversight and accountability, shutting down the White House and impeaching Supreme Court justices seems like an extreme approach that could further divide the country. I’m curious to hear more about the specific legal and ethical justifications for these proposals.
Advocating for the impeachment of Supreme Court justices is a very bold move, even from a Democratic candidate. I’m curious to hear the legal arguments and evidence that would justify such an action. While oversight of the executive branch is important, these proposals seem quite confrontational and could further inflame political divisions.
The candidate’s advocacy for aggressive oversight and even impeachment of Supreme Court justices is certainly attention-grabbing. However, these proposals seem quite radical and could further polarize an already divided political landscape. I’d be curious to learn more about the legal justifications and the candidate’s strategy for advancing these ideas.
The candidate’s platform is certainly attention-grabbing, but I have some concerns about the feasibility and potential consequences of these proposals. Shutting down the White House and impeaching Supreme Court justices seems like a very risky and divisive approach. I’d be interested to hear more about the legal arguments and the candidate’s strategy for building support.
This is a striking and controversial agenda from the Maine Senate candidate. While I appreciate the desire for accountability, the proposals to shut down the White House and impeach Supreme Court justices seem quite extreme. I wonder how the candidate plans to build support for these ideas and what the potential consequences could be for the political process.
The candidate’s advocacy for aggressive oversight and even impeachment of Supreme Court justices is certainly bold. However, these proposals seem quite radical and could further polarize an already divided political landscape. I’d be interested to learn more about the legal justifications and the candidate’s strategy for advancing these ideas in a constructive way.
The candidate’s platform is certainly attention-grabbing, but I have some concerns about the feasibility and potential consequences of these proposals. Shutting down the White House and impeaching Supreme Court justices seems like a very risky and divisive approach. I’d be interested to hear more about the legal arguments and the candidate’s strategy for building support.
This is a striking and controversial platform from the Maine Senate candidate. While I can understand the desire for greater accountability, the calls for a White House shutdown and Supreme Court impeachments seem quite extreme. I wonder how the candidate plans to build support for these proposals and what the potential consequences could be for the political process.
Interesting to see a Democratic candidate taking such a confrontational approach with the White House and the Supreme Court. While oversight is important, these proposals seem quite extreme and could worsen partisan tensions. I’d be curious to learn more about the candidate’s rationale and how they plan to navigate the political challenges of these bold ideas.
Interesting to see a Democratic candidate taking such a confrontational approach with the White House and the Supreme Court. While oversight is important, these proposals seem quite radical and could further inflame partisan tensions. I’d be curious to learn more about the candidate’s rationale and how they plan to navigate the political landscape with these bold ideas.
Interesting to see a Democratic candidate taking such a confrontational approach with the White House and the Supreme Court. While oversight is important, these proposals seem quite extreme and could worsen partisan tensions. I’d be curious to learn more about the candidate’s rationale and how they plan to navigate the political challenges of these bold ideas.