Senator Susan Collins still hasn’t commented on the recent Washington Post investigation that uncovered Postmaster General DeJoy’s apparent illegal straw donor operation. Former employees revealed that DeJoy took advantage of his power as CEO of New Breed to pressure employees to donate to Republican candidates and causes, and then reimbursed them for those donations through bonuses, an arrangement that violates both federal and state law.
Late last year, Senator Collins benefitted from another apparent straw donor scheme when the super PAC formed to support her candidacy accepted a $150,000 contribution from the Society of Young Women Scientist and Engineers, which had been formed only a month earlier and had no online presence or record of conducting business. According to a complaint from the non-partisan Campaign Legal Center, the contribution was likely an illegal straw donation designed to conceal the real source of the funding.
Under DeJoy’s tenure as Postmaster General, Maine postal facilities have had equipment removed, and postal delays have resulted in thousands of dollars in losses for Maine farmers. And while Collins has attempted to deny her role in creating the USPS’s financial crisis, independent fact checkers, bipartisan groups of lawmakers, and Maine postal workers all agree that the pre-funding mandate she championed is the biggest contributor to financial strain on the agency.
“Mainers need a senator who will reject corruption and demand accountability, but Senator Collins’ failure to fight back against this administration’s attacks on the Postal Service and now her silence in the face of Postmaster General DeJoy’s unlawful straw donor scheme show that she’ll let Donald Trump and his cronies get away with anything,” said Maine Democratic Party Executive Director Lisa Roberts. “After 24 years in office, Collins isn’t willing to take on the worst of Washington corruption, and that’s why Mainers are ready to replace her with someone who will.”
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