Allegations of bribery raised against Sen. Collins and others
Tell Senate Ethics: Launch an investigation into allegations of bribery raised against Sen. Collins and others
- Fri, Nov 6 at 3:06 PM
This fall, ProPublica reported that Sen. Susan Collins (R-ME) and others were implicated in a shocking pay-to-play scheme with a weapons contractor, amounting to criminal bribery.
Senator Collins may have lost her seat, Mark, but she’s still the powerful chair of the Senate Appropriations Committee during a pivotal lame duck session where hundreds of billions of dollars are at stake.
People are sick of government corruption, bloated Pentagon budgets, and investments in warfare over human needs — and right now, multiple lawmakers tasked with cutting the checks face troubling allegations of corruption. We refuse to let them finish the job before they’re held accountable.
That’s why we’re rallying activists to demand that the Senate Ethics Committee investigate Sen. Collins and ANY lawmakers or congressional staff implicated in weapons contractor pay-to-play. An investigation can grind the appropriations process to a halt and push these crucial budget decisions into the new Congress, and away from lawmakers eager to maintain a broken status quo.
According to explosive reporting by ProPublica, the CEO of naval contractor Navatek handed FBI agents a 50-page document naming dozens of lobbyists, congressional staffers, and members of Congress who he said helped him trade cash for contracts.[1]
Among those Navatek CEO Martin Kao named, along with Sen. Collins, is the late Sen. Lindsey Graham (R-SC), plus Reps. James Clyburn (D-SC) and Joe Wilson (R-SC). According to Kao, Navatek would donate to lawmakers — and in return they would insert budget language describing the exact research Navatek was planning to do, using language so specific that no one else could win the contract.[2]
These aren’t the only troubling allegations. The Intercept recently reported that Lockheed Martin employees and executives gave Sen. Collins $59,500 in two months in 2023, as the F-35 program faced a damning government watchdog report. Weeks later, she voted to fund 83 more of the failed fighter jets.[3]
This week’s election created huge openings to expose and end this kind of corrupt behavior in the next Congress. But the current Congress is preparing to vote on multiple critical bills NOW.
Congress has to step in, fully investigate these allegations, hold any bad actors accountable, and prevent taxpayer dollars from being funneled to weapons contractors until we have answers. That’s going to require pressure from people like us, today.
Thank you for working for peace,
The Win Without War team
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