FBI Suspects Susan Collins Received Illegal Campaign Contributions From A Defense Contractor: Report

In the 2020 election, Sen. Susan Collins (R-ME) was considered one of the most vulnerable incumbent Republicans in the U.S. Senate. Many said it to be a miracle that she managed to beat her Democratic opponent, Sara Gideon, by over eight percentage points.

But could Collins have won in part because she took illegal campaign contributions from a major defense contractor that has operations in Maine?

Ken Vogel of the New York Times noted Tuesday on Twitter that he’d run across a search warrant for the phones of two executives of the Martin Defense Group. The FBI, it should be noted, obtained the search warrants back in April:

NEW: The @FBI is investigating whether Martin Defense Group (a government contractor with a presence in Maine) & its executives illegally donated to @SenatorCollins's campaign & its supportive super PAC, 1820 PAC, per this search warrant application. https://t.co/DrNIYIru7u

— Kenneth P. Vogel (@kenvogel) May 18, 2021

The @FBI executed the warrant on April 8, imaging the phones of the two defense contracting executives suspected of being behind the illegal donations to @SenatorCollins's campaign & supportive super PAC. https://t.co/WrIv9t6R6o

— Kenneth P. Vogel (@kenvogel) May 18, 2021

It remains unclear if either Collins or her campaign knew about the contributions from the two men who work for Martin Defense.