WP: Three Hawaii defense contractors charged with illegal donations to Sen. Susan Collins

[DBoon]

https://www.washingtonpost.com/dc-md-va/2022/02/10/hawaii-contractors-charged-contributions-collins/

Three former executives of a U.S. defense contractor in Hawaii have been indicted on federal charges of making unlawful campaign contributions to Sen. Susan Collins (R-Maine) and a political action committee that supported her, according to court documents.

Martin Kao, 48, Clifford Chen, 48, and Lawrence “Kahele” Lum Kee, 52, were formerly the chief executive, chief financial officer and accountant, respectively, for a defense contractor prohibited under federal law from making contributions in federal elections, according to a five-count indictment in federal court in Washington. The company was Martin Defense Group, formerly known as Navatek, the company has confirmed.

A 15-page indictment charges the Honolulu men with conspiracy, violating the contractor ban, and making conduit contributions in the name of another after they allegedly created and used a shell company called the Society of Young Women Scientist and Engineers in 2019 to funnel $150,000 to the 1820 PAC, which backed Collins. The men also allegedly used family members to contribute $52,000 to Collins’s campaign directly and reimbursing themselves with funds from their employer, according to charging papers.

...

In a statement Thursday, Collins’s campaign said there are no allegations of wrongdoing by the Collins for Senator Campaign. It added, “As stated previously, the campaign had absolutely no knowledge of any of the allegations against Mr. Kao or his associates until a search warrant was reported in the press.”

[JT45242]

1. She is "deeply concerned"...

that people think that defense contractors might have bought her votes for an unnecessary increase in federal defense spending while voting against roads, paid family leave, lower medicare costs and increased eligibility, and all sorts of other things in BBB thta were far less costly.

She'll clutch her pearls... give some reason for plausible deniability and then continue to be the lying, cheating, corrupt, POS that she always has been.

[lagomorph777]

2. I'm concerned.

[uponit7771]

3. Whoa !!! ... and Obama *WARNED* Roberts about this at a SOTU address !! That the current laws ...

... would mostly allow for RETROACTIVE prosecution vs preventative when it came to Citizens United

Roberts shook his head like an collaborator or an idiot when Obama said it too, either one is bad.

I think its on video