Maine Sen. Collins considers crowdfunding campaign 'the equivalent of an attempt to bribe me'

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When Brett Kavanaugh walked away from a Parkland shooting victim’s father after he tried to shake his hand, many people were left wondering, where exactly does Supreme Court nominee stand on gun control laws?
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WASHINGTON — A watchdog group is asking the Justice Department to investigate a number of groups they say may be illegally pressuring Sen. Susan Collins to gain her vote against Brett Kavanaugh, the president’s Supreme Court pick. Collins says she sees the effort – an online crowdfunding effort by groups that threaten to use the money against Collins if she votes for Kavanaugh – as an attempt to bribe her for the vote.

Collins is one of two potential swing votes on Kavanaugh and has seemingly found herself at the center of the nation’s divide over Trump’s second nominee to the high court. The Maine Republican has reported receiving threatening calls and letters as well as more than 3,000 wire coat hangers in a grim reference to the unsafe, illegal abortions that abortion-rights defenders say would follow the end of Roe v. Wade.

But it’s the online crowdfunding campaign by three activists groups that’s raised concerns of bribery. The Foundation for Accountability and Civic Trust (FACT) told USA TODAY it is sending a letter to the Justice Department on Thursday asking it investigate the groups, which have raised more than $1.2 million to go to Collins’ opponent if she votes to appoint Kavanaugh. 

“I think this is one of those things where it’s very obvious that outside influence is being used in an attempt to corrupt a member of Congress,” said Kendra Arnold, executive director of FACT. “We expect them to act on merit and it’s pretty clear no matter where you lean politically that this is absolutely an act of bribery and corruption.” 

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Collins said she also considers the crowdfunding campaign to be an attempt at bribery. More than 40,000 donors have contributed to the effort, which pledges they won’t be charged if Collins votes against Kavanaugh.

“I consider this quid pro quo fundraising to be the equivalent of an attempt to bribe me to vote against Judge Kavanaugh,” she told the conservative site Newsmax. She also told the Wall Street Journal that two lawyers told her the campaign violated federal bribery law and a third said it was extortion. 

The four-page letter, which was provided to USA TODAY, will be sent to Brian Benczkowski, who heads the Justice Department’s criminal division. The letter asks not only for the investigation of the three groups raising money to oppose Collins, but also that the webpage where people are donating be removed.

The crowdfunding campaign is led by the groups Be A Hero Team, Maine People’s Alliance and Mainers for Accountable Leadership. They say bribery accusations are false and that the First Amendment protects them. 

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From left, minority members of the Senate Judiciary Committee, Sen. Sheldon Whitehouse, D-R.I., Sen. Amy Klobuchar, D-Minn., Sen. Chris Coons, D-Del., and Sen. Richard Blumenthal, D-Conn., wait through procedural delays as Supreme Court nominee Brett Kavanaugh appears for the third day of his confirmation hearing, on Capitol Hill in Washington, Sept. 6, 2018. J. Scott Applewhite, APSenate Judiciary Chairman Chuck Grassley, R-Iowa, center, accompanied by Sen. Orrin Hatch, R-Utah, left, and Sen. Dianne Feinstein, D-Calif., the ranking member on the Senate Judiciary Committee, right, speaks toward the committee Democrats. Andrew Harnik, AP

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“The idea of Susan Collins attacking an effort by 35,000 small dollar donors as bribery is politics at its worst,” said Marie Follayttar, the co-director of Mainers for Accountable Leadership. “Thousands of Mainers are trying desperately to tell her that she needs to protect abortion access and critical healthcare coverage across the country by voting ‘no’ on Kavanaugh.”

But, FACT says in the letter that any amount of money promised to a public official is illegal if “the payments are made in return for an explicit promise or undertaking by the official to perform or not to perform an official act.”

Arnold said she’d never seen a campaign like this in hopes of swaying an elected official’s opinion or vote. 

“I think that’s one reason why it’s imperative that the Justice Department look into this,” she said. “It would be an enormous mistake to try and ignore something like this that seems almost unprecedented.” 

Despite the pressure, Collins and her staff say the aggressive tactics to sway her vote are a wasted effort.

“Bribery will not work on Sen. Collins,” Collins’ spokeswoman Annie Clark told USA TODAY. “Sen. Collins will make up her mind based on the merits of the nomination. Threats or other attempts to bully her will not play a factor in her decision making whatsoever.”

Contributing: Will Cummings

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