Maine Dems hammer Collins over report of pay-to-play probe. The GOP senator calls it ‘totally false’

PORTLAND, Maine (AP) — Maine Democrats on Wednesday assailed U.S. Susan Collins over a news report that the FBI investigated how much she knew about illegal campaign contributions that sent one of her donors to prison. The ProPublica report, published Tuesday, states that the FBI in 2024 planned to launch an investigation into Collins’ dealings with Navatek, a Hawaii defense contractor and donor to her campaign.

The investigation, which focused on an alleged pay-to-play scheme, failed to commence after President Donald Trump took office after winning the election, according to ProPublica. The report arrived six weeks before an election where Collins is seeking her sixth term against Democrat Troy Jackson. Democrats have targeted the seat, in a state that Trump lost in 2024, as the party tries to win control of the Senate, making it one of the most competitive races on the November ballot.

Collins on Tuesday called the entire story “absolutely outrageous” and said it is frustrating and unfair to have such claims made against her so close to the election. Her campaign manager, Steve Abbott, also said Wednesday that the allegation that “we charge people to have meetings” is categorically false and Collins accepting campaign cash for contracts “did not happen.” Jackson called the allegation “corruption of the highest order.” He was not present Wednesday when a group of Maine Democrats held a news conference near Collins’ Portland office, calling the allegations a betrayal of trust. “I cannot stress enough here today the seriousness of these allegations.

Maine people deserve clear and real answers from Susan Collins right now,” Maine Democratic Party executive director Devon Murphy-Anderson said. FBI says allegations were already investigated The ProPublica report stated that the head of a Collins super PAC met with executives from defense contractor Navatek in 2019 and asked them for a $500,000 campaign donation. The company’s CEO, Martin Kao, sent an initial $150,000 donation using a shell company, the report stated.

ProPublica reported that it reviewed an internal company email from Kao in which the CEO later told Navatek executives that Collins committed to getting the company $32 million in Navy contracts. Kao and two other Navatek executives were later indicted on charges of funneling illegal donations to Collins. Kao sought to reduce his jail sentenc…

Kao sought to reduce his jail sentence by rev…