The Federal Bureau of Investigation is investigating an alleged campaign finance scheme it characterized as “massive” involving a political action committee aligned with Senator Susan Collins, and direct donations to the Collins’ campaign. The Maine Republican won re-election in November despite polling that showed her Democratic challenger beating her.
“A recently unsealed search warrant application shows the FBI believes a Hawaii defense contractor illegally funneled $150,000 to a pro-Collins super PAC and reimbursed donations to Collins’ campaign. There’s no indication that Collins or her team were aware of any of it,” Axios reports.
The report shows that Senator Collins, who sits on the Defense subcommittee of the powerful Senate Appropriations Committee, helped the contractor secure an $8 million Navy contract, before most of the donations were given. That contractor is the Martin Defense Group, formerly known as Navatek.
A shell company was allegedly used. Federal contractors are prohibited from donating to super PACs.
“Former Navatek CEO Martin Kao was indicted last year for allegedly bilking the federal government of millions in coronavirus relief loans,” Axios reports.
The Collins Campaign “had absolutely no knowledge of anything alleged in the warrant,” a Collins spokesperson, Annie Clark, told Axios.
Maine voters elected Collins “to a fifth term by 9 points. No Maine senator has been popularly elected five times. It was a far cry from previous supermajority wins,” The Bangor Daily News reported at the time, “but resounding after every public poll showed [Democrat Sara]Gideon ahead. Democrats had pinned their hopes of flipping the Senate on Maine, leading to more than $200 million spent on the race.”
Here’s a copy of the search warrant: