Aaron Frey

Aaron M. Frey (born c. 1978)[1] is an American lawyer and politician serving as the 58th Attorney General of Maine since 2019. He formerly served as a Democratic representative in the Maine House of Representatives. He is currently being investigated by his own party for a sexual relationship with a married direct subordinate as well as his handling of disclosure.[2]

Aaron Frey
58th Attorney General of Maine
Assumed office
January 2, 2019
GovernorJanet Mills
Preceded byJanet Mills
Member of the Maine House of Representatives
In office
December 3, 2014 – December 5, 2018
Preceded byBryan Kaenrath
Succeeded byJoe Perry
Constituency124th district
In office
December 5, 2012 – December 3, 2014
Preceded byJames W. Parker
Succeeded byAnne-Marie Mastraccio
Constituency18th district
Personal details
Born1978 or 1979 (age 43–44)
Bangor, Maine, U.S.
Political partyDemocratic
EducationSaint Anselm College (BA)
Roger Williams University (JD)

Early life and career

Frey was born and raised in Dixmont, Maine. He is the son of Michael Frey and Cynthia Bean-Frey.[3] Frey attended Saint Anselm College, where he served as student body president. He graduated from Saint Anselm with a Bachelor's degree in politics, and later received a Juris Doctor degree from Roger Williams University School of Law. He later started a law firm in Bangor. In 2012 he was elected to the Maine House of Representatives. From December 2014 until his resignation, he represented the 124th district, which includes parts of Bangor and Orono.[4]

Maine Attorney General

In December 2018, Democrats in the Maine Legislature chose Frey as their nominee for Maine Attorney General. Upon his nomination, he resigned his house seat to comply with a constitutional provision that prohibits state legislators from being elected to higher offices. He succeeded Janet Mills, who was elected Governor of Maine.[5][6]

Upon taking office, Frey stated that he would consider involving Maine in multi-state lawsuits against pharmaceutical companies.[7] He later joined a lawsuit accusing drug manufacturers of price inflation.[8]

In February 2019, Frey became one of sixteen state attorneys general to join a lawsuit against the Trump administration over President Trump's decision to declare a national emergency. The emergency declaration was made to allow the President to allocate funding for a wall on the United States-Mexico border.[9][10]

In April 2023, Frey announced that he was in a romantic relationship with an employee under his direct supervision in the Attorney General's Office and called it "an error in judgment" to not reassign the employee to a new supervisor.[11] In an email to office staff, Frey identified the employee as an Assistant Attorney General and disclosed that the relationship had begun in August 2022.[12] The revelation was made after the Bangor Daily News began investigating tips about Frey's relationship.[13]

References
  1. "Maine Democrats pick Bangor's Aaron Frey to succeed Janet Mills as attorney general". 4 December 2018.
  2. "Senate Democrats may investigate Attorney General's relationship with staffer". 6 April 2023.
  3. "Will new attorney general be fair? Ask former President George W. Bush". 28 December 2018.
  4. "Rep. Frey". legislature.maine.gov. Archived from the original on 1 December 2018. Retrieved 5 December 2018.
  5. "Maine Democrats pick Bangor's Aaron Frey to succeed Janet Mills as attorney general". Bangor Daily News. 4 December 2018. Retrieved 5 December 2018.
  6. "Maine House of Representatives". legislature.maine.gov. Retrieved 9 December 2018.
  7. Leary, Mal (2 January 2019). "Maine's New Attorney General Is Looking At More Joint Actions With Other States". www.mainepublic.org. Retrieved 2019-02-19.
  8. Gray, Megan (2019-05-14). "Maine joins multi-state lawsuit accusing drug makers of price-rigging". Biddeford Journal Tribune.
  9. "Maine among states suing over Trump's border 'emergency'". Bangor Daily News. 18 February 2019. Retrieved 2019-02-19.
  10. "16 states sue President Donald Trump over emergency declaration for border wall". ABC News. Retrieved 2019-02-19.
  11. Shepherd, Michael (2023-04-05). "Maine AG Aaron Frey in romantic relationship with employee he supervised". Bangor Daily News. Retrieved 2023-04-10.
  12. Writer, Eric RussellStaff (2023-04-05). "AG acknowledges relationship with subordinate, apologizes for not disclosing sooner". Press Herald. Retrieved 2023-04-10.
  13. Shepherd, Michael (2023-04-05). "Maine AG Aaron Frey in romantic relationship with employee he supervised". Bangor Daily News. Retrieved 2023-04-10.
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