Eric RussellVerified account

@PPHEricRussell

General assignment/Enterprise reporter for the . You can reach me at erussell@pressherald.com or (207) 791-6344

Portland, Maine
Joined May 2012

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  1. Retweeted
    16 hours ago

    "Pot dispensaries biggest funders of Mills inaugural,"

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  2. Retweeted
    18 hours ago

    This is the counter to 'fake news.' Admitting and correcting mistakes. Props to you.

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  3. . reports that former Maine DHHS commissioner (and candidate for governor) Mary Mayhew has left her job at to take a position in Florida She had only been with CMS a short time.

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  4. Just as we are transparent in our reporting, we should be transparent when we get things wrong.

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  5. While it doesn't change the underlying facts of the story in question and it remains true that the pardon process as a whole became less transparent last year, the full context is important.

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  6. This is all quite complicated, but frankly it's our job to sort through complicated things every day and I failed in this instance. I sincerely regret the mistake.

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  7. What still remains unclear is whether the governor's office or another agency can release the names of people who have petitioned for or been granted pardons. Gov. LePage never released names but others have in the past.

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  8. However, upon further review, it appears that the law change last year made confidential all PETITIONS, or requests, for pardons. The pardons themselves actually have been confidential since 1979, when the first criminal records information act was enacted.

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  9. I also interviewed for further clarity the head of the Criminal Law Advisory Commission, which recommended that change. He indicated that the change was made, in part, to give people who are pardoned a "clean slate."

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  10. I noted that in the state's criminal history records information act, a change was made in 2017 related to pardons. It appeared that the change made confidential ALL pardon decisions.

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  11. In trying to learn about the process for executive pardons, I reviewed the legal history of both the law governing pardons and the law governing release of public information about criminal records.

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  12. I want to draw attention to a correction that's being made to this story, which was published online Thursday and appeared in Friday's

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  13. Retweeted

    ., a sitting GOP Congressman, will host a Fox News show today, his office says

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  14. A federal budget bill that had unanimous support in the Senate last month is a "non-starter" now that the (newly Democratic) House has passed it, says

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  15. Jan 3

    I can't really understand anyone who thinks the most diverse Congress in history is anything but great and overdue.

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  16. Jan 3

    Agreed. People who dismiss this story are missing out on a great piece of journalism by

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  17. Jan 3

    The real question is: How often did the governor do this? We have no real way of knowing.

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  18. Jan 3

    In his pardon of Republican lawmaker Jeffrey Pierce, outgoing Gov. dismissed the recommendation (or lack thereof) of his own clemency board.

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  19. Jan 3
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  20. Retweeted
    Jan 3

    Consistent with Golden's campaign statements that he would not support Pelosi as House Speaker...

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