Republicans Rally Behind Susan Collins as ProPublica Revives 2024 FBI Bribery-Probe Allegations
Updated
Updated · USA TODAY · Sep 23
Republicans Rally Behind Susan Collins as ProPublica Revives 2024 FBI Bribery-Probe Allegations
3 articles · Updated · USA TODAY · Sep 23
Summary
Senate Republicans closed ranks around Susan Collins a day after ProPublica reported the FBI had gathered enough evidence by late 2024 to pursue a broad bribery probe tied to a defense contractor donor.
John Cornyn called the allegations “a bunch of BS,” Katie Britt said Collins has the “utmost ethical standards,” and Majority Leader John Thune dismissed the report as a political hit job.
Collins and her aides denied wrongdoing, saying the Justice Department had already cleared her and her staff; Collins called the story a “smear job” built on claims from a convicted felon.
The allegations land weeks before November in a toss-up Maine race that could help decide Senate control, adding to pressure from an unpopular war, Trump’s Canada trade disputes and a reshaped Democratic challenge.