Maine’s congressional delegation needs a Bill Cohen moment | Letter

Lawrence Reichard of Belfast has called on Maine's current congressional delegation to follow the example of the late Republican U.S. Rep. Bill Cohen and move to impeach President Donald Trump.

In a letter published by the Portland Press Herald, Reichard drew a parallel between the present political moment and Cohen's vote on July 27, 1974, to support the first of three articles of impeachment against President Richard Nixon — also a member of Cohen's own Republican Party.

Reichard described Cohen's vote as "a brave act for a freshman congressman, bucking his party and going up against its leader, the president of the United States," and called it a "career-defining moment."

Cohen went on to serve four terms in the U.S. House and was elected to the U.S. Senate in 1978. He served in the Senate until 1997, when he was appointed Secretary of Defense by President Bill Clinton. He died in 2020.

In the letter, Reichard argued that the current political situation is even more serious than the Nixon-era crisis, writing that the country "now faces an internal threat much graver than that posed by Richard Nixon." He characterized Trump as "growing increasingly erratic and unstable" and said the president "must be removed from office before he does irreparable harm to our country, and indeed to the entire world."

Reichard urged Democratic U.S. Reps. Pingree and Golden to "introduce and support articles of impeachment against President Trump," and called on independent U.S. Sen. King and Republican U.S. Sen. Collins to "call for Trump's removal."

He framed the decision facing the delegation as "their Bill Cohen moment," writing that "history will judge harshly those who dawdled while Rome burned."

Reichard submitted his letter from Belfast.