Timberlake says donors believed their money was going to the right places as lawmakers push for clarity on whether OPEGA can investigate
Nearly three years after Mainers poured money into relief efforts following the Lewiston mass shooting, lawmakers are still trying to determine whether the state’s government watchdog has the authority to investigate where that money went and how it was distributed.
Sen. Jeff Timberlake (R-Androscoggin), a member of the Legislature’s Government Oversight Committee, said during the committee’s latest meeting that the issue deserves serious scrutiny because donors contributed believing their money would reach the people it was intended to help.
People donated money because they “thought it was going in all the right places,” Timberlake said.
“I’m concerned [about] where that money went,” Timberlake said. “So it’s something that I think is serious, and I think it’s something that needs to figure out a solution.”
Timberlake also suggested taxpayers should not necessarily be expected to make up the difference if money donated for victims and their families failed to reach its intended destination.
Sitting in the room as lawmakers discussed the issue were Bobbi Nichols, Destiney Johnson and Amy Susman, along with other supporters of the friends and families affected by the Oct. 25, 2023, Lewiston shootings.
Their presence put a human face on what has increasingly become a complicated legal question involving private donations, public dollars and the limits of Maine’s legislative oversight authority.
At the center of the dispute is a straightforward question:
Who has the authority to follow the money?
Lawmakers Asked Frey for a Legal Opinion
The Government Oversight Committee formally asked Attorney General Aaron Frey that question nearly two months ago.
In a June 24 letter, the committee requested a legal opinion on whether the Office of Program Evaluation and Government Accountability, or OPEGA, can investigate the collection, management and distribution of money donated following the Lewiston massacre.
The request grew out of the committee’s June 17 meeting, when Rep. John Eder asked lawmakers to direct OPEGA to conduct a program evaluation of the Maine Community Foundation’s handling of post-shooting donations.
OPEGA Director Peter Schleck raised a potential obstacle.
According to the committee’s June 24 letter, Schleck said he was unaware of evidence that the money contained state-appropriated or otherwise state-provided public funds.
If the Maine Community Foundation was dealing exclusively with privately donated money, Schleck questioned whether OPEGA had jurisdiction to investigate.
That could leave lawmakers without one of their primary tools for independently determining how the money was handled.
But Eder raised another possibility during the June meeting: What if public money was involved?
According to the committee’s letter, Eder suggested the City of Lewiston may have contributed public funds to the Maine Community Foundation.
If that occurred, lawmakers want to know whether those taxpayer dollars could provide the legal basis for OPEGA to investigate.
The committee also noted that Lewiston appears to have separately collected and redistributed private donations following the shooting.
Those different streams of money, private donations, municipal funds and potentially state-connected dollars, have created a jurisdictional question lawmakers now want Frey to resolve.
Could Public Money Open the Door to a Broader Investigation?
The June 24 letter, signed by Government Oversight Committee Senate Chair Craig Hickman and House Chair Anne-Marie Mastraccio, asks Frey to answer three questions.
First, lawmakers want to know whether OPEGA lacks jurisdiction to evaluate purely private donations received by the Maine Community Foundation, despite statutory language that references nonprofit corporations.
Second, the committee wants to know whether money distributed by the City of Lewiston to the Maine Community Foundation could fall under OPEGA’s authority, including if those dollars were connected to Maine’s municipal revenue-sharing program.
The third question could prove the most consequential.
The committee asked Frey whether establishing that some public funds were included in the money at issue could allow OPEGA to examine the handling and disposition of private donations associated with those funds.
Put another way: If taxpayer money entered the Lewiston shooting relief effort, could Maine’s legislative watchdog follow the money into the privately funded portions as well?
Frey’s answer could determine the scope of any future investigation.
Timberlake: Donors Expected Their Money to Help
Timberlake’s comments brought the discussion back to the people who donated after the massacre.
In the days and weeks following the shootings, Mainers and people across the country contributed money to help victims, survivors, their families and the Lewiston community.
For those donors, Timberlake suggested, the expectation was simple: the money would go where they were told it was going.
“A year and a half [ago], donate money ’cause [you] thought it was going in all the right places,” Timberlake said during the discussion.
“I’m concerned [about] where that money went,” he added.
Timberlake said the committee needs to determine what happened and find a solution if money did not reach the places donors believed it would.
His comments did not constitute an allegation that money was stolen or misappropriated, and the committee’s June letter similarly does not accuse the Maine Community Foundation, the City of Lewiston or any individual of wrongdoing.
Instead, lawmakers are attempting to determine whether an independent state watchdog can examine the records and provide an accounting.
Before OPEGA can investigate the substance of the matter, however, lawmakers first need an answer about whether OPEGA is legally permitted to investigate at all.
Timberlake Growing Frustrated With Wait for AG
The latest meeting also revealed frustration over how long the committee has been waiting for Frey’s office to answer its June 24 request.
Timberlake said he has previously dealt with the Attorney General’s Office at the Deputy Attorney General level and received answers promptly.
He said the attorney currently working on the issue had been brought back from retirement and expressed confidence that the committee would ultimately receive the requested opinion.
“I have confidence based on the reputation that they’re gonna get that for us,” Timberlake said.
Timberlake said he came away with the impression that the Attorney General’s Office would not have an answer ready for the current meeting but also believed there was a desire within the office to move the matter forward rather than allow it to languish.
“I did come away with the impression that it couldn’t be for this meeting, but there was a desire not to sit on it and to move forward,” Timberlake said.
But Timberlake also made clear there is a limit to how long he believes the committee should wait.
He said he would express “considerable frustration” if the Attorney General’s Office fails to provide a response to the committee’s questions and does not appear at its next meeting.
“For the record,” Timberlake noted, that meeting is scheduled for Sept. 16.
That date could now become a significant deadline for the families and supporters seeking greater scrutiny of the shooting relief funds.
Families and Supporters Were in the Room
As lawmakers debated jurisdiction and waited for Frey’s legal opinion, Nichols, Johnson, Susman and other supporters of friends and families affected by the shootings watched from the meeting room.
Their attendance served as a reminder that the dispute extends beyond an argument over the wording of Maine statutes.
Eighteen people were killed and 13 wounded when a gunman opened fire at Just-In-Time Recreation and Schemengees Bar & Grille on Oct. 25, 2023.
The massacre prompted an extraordinary response across Maine and the country, including an outpouring of charitable contributions intended to assist those affected by the tragedy.
Now, nearly three years later, some of those families and their supporters continue to seek greater clarity about how the money was handled and where it ultimately went.
The Government Oversight Committee’s request does not establish that any money was improperly distributed, nor does it accuse the Maine Community Foundation or Lewiston officials of wrongdoing.
But without an independent review, questions are likely to remain.
Sept. 16 Could Bring Answers
The immediate question is no longer simply how the donations were distributed.
It is whether Maine’s Legislature has the legal authority to investigate them.
If Frey concludes that the funds were entirely private and outside OPEGA’s jurisdiction, lawmakers may need to find another avenue for obtaining the accounting being sought.
If the Attorney General concludes that Lewiston contributed public money, including money tied to state revenue sharing, OPEGA could potentially have jurisdiction over at least that portion of the funds.
And if Frey determines that the presence of public dollars permits OPEGA to examine associated private donations, the scope of a potential review could become considerably broader.
For Timberlake, the families and supporters who attended the meeting, and Mainers who donated after the massacre, the underlying issue is much simpler than the legal debate surrounding OPEGA’s statutory authority.
People gave money believing it would help those devastated by the Lewiston shootings.
Now lawmakers are trying to determine whether the state’s watchdog can independently verify where it went.
The Attorney General’s Office has been asked to provide the answer.
And by Sept. 16, Timberlake, Sussman and Nichols have made clear that they expect one.
I fear that this is way beyond the horsepower of our very own Attorney General Aaron Frey .
He’s way too busy signing his x onto lawsuits brought by real AGs across the entire country .
Like the class action suit by the eskimo kids injured from eating the flour paste in school in Alaska .
Food dyes ….weed killers ….vape devices ….video games …are more Mr Frey’s speed .
If Hanna wins the Blaine House our friend Aaron will be looking to win big prizes .