Maine Democratic Governor Janet Mills was visibly rattled last month during a visit to Washington, D.C., when she was confronted about past allegations of cocaine use — charges she has long dismissed as politically motivated.
Caught off guard, Mills responded to a pointed question — “Is sniffing cocaine at work a human right?” — with a stunned, “What the f—?” before walking away without offering an answer. A follow-up question — “How much more does an eight-ball cost with inflation?” — was also ignored.
The exchange, captured on video and shared with Fox News Digital, resurfaced just as a recently unearthed memo from the U.S. Department of Justice contradicts Mills’ decades-old narrative that she was the target of a politically charged smear campaign.
A Case Reopened by History
Back in the early 1990s, Mills — then a district attorney in Maine — came under investigation by the U.S. Attorney’s Office, the DEA, and Maine’s Bureau of Intergovernmental Drug Enforcement (BIDE) after a drug suspect alleged she had used cocaine. Although no charges were filed, Mills consistently maintained that the probe lacked merit and was retribution for her criticism of BIDE’s overzealous enforcement tactics.
In fact, Mills and two other Maine DAs publicly accused BIDE in 1990 of inflating arrest stats by targeting low-level drug offenders, a stance she believed made her a political target.
“Maine apparently has a secret police force at work that can ruin the reputation of any who opposes it,” she told the Portland Press Herald in 1991.
But a 1995 memo from the DOJ’s Office of Professional Responsibility (OPR) — addressed to the deputy attorney general, where Merrick Garland was then serving as principal associate — tells a different story.
According to the memo, federal investigators found no misconduct by any state or federal agency involved in the Mills case. Her claims that she was targeted for political reasons, that witnesses were coerced, or that information was leaked to the press — all were found to be unsubstantiated.
“The USAO in Maine conducted a proper investigation of serious allegations; no misconduct of any kind can fairly be attributed to any member of that office,” the DOJ concluded.
Media Leak, Libel Suit, and Biden’s Intervention
The case first gained public attention in 1990 when WCSH-TV reported that Mills was under investigation by a federal grand jury, citing law enforcement sources. Mills subsequently sued the reporter for libel and slander, alleging improper leaks by BIDE agents — though court records related to that lawsuit were disposed of in 2015.
In January 1992, then-Senator Joe Biden intervened, requesting that DOJ/OPR examine allegations that the Maine U.S. Attorney’s Office had mishandled the investigation and intimidated witnesses. That request followed a letter from two Maine lawmakers, Patrick Paradis and N. Paul Gauvreau, who alleged the misconduct went beyond BIDE and implicated federal authorities.
Despite this high-profile attention, the DOJ ultimately cleared all involved agencies of any wrongdoing.
Still, Mills continued to claim she had been smeared for speaking out.
“It’s awfully coincidental this investigation was leaked shortly after my comments about BIDE,” she said in 1991. “It sets a very bad precedent when a prosecutor has to look over their shoulder every time they put someone in jail.”
No Comment from Mills’ Office
Fox News Digital reached out to Mills’ office several times for comment on the DOJ memo, but received no response.
This isn’t the first time Mills has accused others of politically driven investigations. Earlier this year, she charged President Donald Trump with launching a “politically directed investigation” into Maine’s Department of Education. That accusation came just days after Mills and Trump clashed at a White House meeting of the National Governors Association, where the president warned her to enforce his executive order barring biological males from women’s sports or risk losing federal funding.
“We’ll see you in court,” Mills replied — and that’s where the legal battle now sits.
A Senate Bid on the Horizon?
With Mills term-limited as governor in 2026, political observers are eyeing her as a potential challenger to longtime Republican Senator Susan Collins. Though Mills claimed in April that she has “no plans to run for another office,” she also added that “things change week to week, month to month.”
With questions about her past resurfacing and DOJ records now contradicting her longtime defense, any political ambitions she may have could face renewed scrutiny.
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