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Thursday, May. 20, 2021

Are executives at a defense contractor under investigation for possibly illegal campaign contributions to Sen. Susan Collins?

Stevie Rosignol-Cortez, Gigafact
yes

According to a search warrant application obtained by Axios, executives at Martin Defense Group (formerly Navatek) are being investigated in connection with more than $150,000 in allegedly illegal contributions to the 2020 reelection campaign of Maine Sen. Susan Collins. Federal contractors are barred from making political contributions to campaigns for federal office. Martin executives are being investigated for reimbursing family members for contributions to the Collins campaign, which would also be illegal because it is considered to be “making donations in the name of another.”

The donations occurred after Collins helped the company secure an $8 million government contract. Axios said “there was no indication that Collins or her team were aware of any of it.” A Collins spokesperson told Axios that the campaign had no knowledge of anything alleged in the warrant.

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