Maine Democrats called for answers following a report that federal agents planned to investigate Sen. Susan Collins over defense contractor donations. Collins denied the claims.
Maine Democrats attacked Republican Sen. Susan Collins on Wednesday following a report that the FBI planned an investigation in 2024 into whether she was involved in a pay-to-play scheme with a defense contractor.
According to a ProPublica report published Tuesday, federal investigators planned to look into Collins’ dealings with Navatek, a Hawaii defense contractor and campaign donor. Martin Kao, the firm’s former chief executive, went to prison for funneling illegal campaign funds to Collins. Kao told the FBI that his company sent $150,000 through a shell company to a super PAC supporting Collins’ 2020 reelection as part of an arrangement for government contracts, ProPublica reported. The outlet also cited an internal email in which Kao told company executives that Collins committed to securing $32 million in Navy contracts. ProPublica reported that the planned inquiry didn’t begin after President Donald Trump took office.
Collins calls allegations a smear
Collins denied the report, calling the story “completely false” and “absolutely outrageous.” She noted that Kao is a convicted felon whose cooperation failed to win him leniency from a sentencing judge.
“I’ve got to say, I do not understand how anyone would take the word of a felon who’s been convicted twice, twice, two separate cases, of five counts of money laundering, counts of bank fraud, false submissions to the FEC. He is a convicted liar,” Collins told the Wall Street Journal. In an interview with Punchbowl News, Collins blamed Democrats and Senate Minority Leader Chuck Schumer for the report, calling it a “political hit job.”
Collins’ campaign manager, Steve Abbott, said the claim that Collins traded contracts for campaign money “did not happen.” Collins said she first learned of Navatek through the University of Maine because of research the Navy valued regarding 3D printing.
Democrats demand answers before election
The report was published six weeks before Collins faces Democratic challenger Troy Jackson in an election where Collins is seeking a sixth term. Jackson called the allegation “corruption of the highest order.”
During a news conference outside Collins’ Portland office on Wednesday, Maine Democratic Party Executive Director Devon Murphy-Anderson said, “I cannot stress enough here today the seriousness of these allegations. Maine people deserve clear and real answers from Susan Collins right now.”
Senate Majority Leader John Thune defended Collins and dismissed the claims as a political hit job.
FBI spokesperson Ben Williamson said the allegations “had already been investigated by the FBI years ago and ultimately found nothing implicating Senator Collins or Senator Collins’ campaign. Any suggestion otherwise is totally false.” ProPublica reported that the FBI did not answer questions about the new investigation planned for 2024. The Justice Department did not respond to an emailed request for comment Wednesday.
