Susan Collins campaign's corruption defense unravels as university knocks down key claim

The University of Maine has contradicted a key claim Republican Sen. Susan Collins’ campaign made while defending her relationship with a defense contractor.

ProPublica reporter William Turton revealed Friday that the university disputed Collins campaign manager Steve Abbott’s account of Navatek’s work on a new boat.

“This most recent boat has no Navatek connection, and UMaine has not worked with Navatek since 2021," university spokesperson Samantha Warren told Turton.

ProPublica reported Tuesday that former Navatek CEO Martin Kao accused Collins’ office of helping steer millions in federal funding to his company in exchange for campaign contributions. Collins and her office have denied any wrongdoing.

“One of the important findings in the story was that the head of the company and others said that the work Navatek did with the University of Maine was of little value,” Turton wrote on X.

Abbott pushed back during a press conference this week. He claimed a new boat launched by the university last month used Navatek research from 2019, Turton said.

“He even held up pictures of the 2019 boat and directly linked it to the new one,” the reporter wrote.

But the university’s statement on Friday knocked down that claim.

“This is one of several falsehoods the campaign has offered in response to our story,” Turton said Friday.

Kao is serving an 87-month prison sentence for money laundering and bank fraud.