Evan Hurst is the managing editor of Wonkette, which means he is the boss of you, unless you are Rebecca, who is boss of him. His dog Lula is judging you right now. Follow him on Twitter RIGHT HERE.<doc-sep>Is Maine Republican Sen. Susan Collins being bribed to vote against Supreme Court nominee Brett Kavanaugh? That’s what she and others are saying. The conservative-leaning news site Newsmax reported on Monday that a prominent Republican elections lawyer is calling for an investigation into what it described as a more than $1 million “threat” hanging over Collins’s head, depending on her vote on Kavanaugh. In a statement to Newsmax, Collins said she believed there was an attempt to “bribe” her vote and said she wouldn’t be the target of “quid pro quo fundraising.” But no one is actually trying to give Collins money to vote against Kavanaugh. Instead, what Newsmax and Collins are referring to is a crowdfunding campaign run on the progressive political crowdfunding platform Crowdpac. Launched by ALS patient and activist Ady Barkan, the grassroots community action organization Maine People’s Alliance, and the activist and watchdog group Mainers for Accountable Leadership, the campaign is meant to encourage Collins to vote against Kavanaugh. It’s raised $1.1 million so far, but that money will never go to Collins. The proposition: If Collins votes against Kavanaugh, donors who have pledged to the campaign won’t be charged. If she votes for him, the funds raised will go to her Democratic opponent when she is up for reelection in 2020. I may be losing my voice, but I can still send a message, and I have one for @SenatorCollins: If you vote for Kavanaugh we will fund your future opponent for 2020. Vote NO and #StopKavanaugh #BeAHero Pledge $20.20 to this campaign and share it: https://t.co/4HPtATVrXc pic.twitter.com/ZkdI3u57yY — Ady Barkan (@AdyBarkan) August 16, 2018 Collins and Alaska’s Sen. Lisa Murkowski are considered to be the two key votes on Kavanaugh who will determine whether he is confirmed as a justice of the US Supreme Court. Both women are in favor of abortion rights, and progressives have been pushing them fiercely to oppose Kavanaugh’s nomination because of concerns over his stance on Roe v. Wade and the possibility that he might vote to overturn or chip away at the landmark case. Kavanaugh and Collins met in August, and she said he told her that the matter was “settled law,” even though, as Vox’s Anna North pointed out, during his confirmation hearing last week, Kavanaugh largely danced around giving a straight answer on the issue. There’s some back-and-forth over the legality of the crowdfunding campaign At issue here is whether Collins is being, essentially, paid for her vote. As mentioned, the crowdfunding campaign isn’t promising a donation to her campaign, but if she votes no, it would give money to her eventual opponent. T.J. Adams-Falconer, a spokesperson for Crowdpac, told Newsmax that the platform had been “thoroughly vetted” by the Federal Election Commission and had received “unanimous approval” from it. He said Barkan, the progressive activist who created the campaign, and his Be a Hero PAC have selected a nominee fund for the pledges if they become contributions that will go toward Collins’s eventual opponent, which, he said, is legal. In an emailed statement to Vox, Adams-Falconer said the response to the campaign has been “incredible” and an example of tens of thousands of people expressing their political speech and “counteracting the dark money that has poured in from big, corporate groups” for years. “The notion that this grassroots activism amounts to bribery is ridiculous and insulting to the more than 40,000 Mainers and other Americans who are making their voice heard through this campaign — no matter which way she votes, Senator Collins will not receive anything of value from this campaign,” he said. Despite Crowdpac’s defense, the Wall Street Journal’s editorial board jumped onto the bribery bandwagon on Tuesday, saying the campaign is clear “quid pro quo” and questioning its legality. “We’re all for citizens exercising their free-speech rights, including campaign donations, for or against political candidates,” the board wrote. “But federal law defines the crime of bribery as ‘corruptly’ offering ‘anything of value to a public official, including a Member of Congress, with the intent to ‘influence any official act.’” Collins told the Journal that three attorneys had told her it’s a “clear violation” of federal law. In the same interview, she also complained about “out-of-state voicemails” being left on answering machine in her offices. Activists have also mailed her wire hangers, referencing a dangerous abortion method women sometimes resort to when the medical procedure is illegal. Some progressives have pointed out that while many on the right are complaining about the grassroots crowdfunding campaign around Collins as bribery, they seem to have no such qualms about campaign donations from major corporations or billionaires such as the Koch brothers, which are completely legal under campaign finance laws. "I much prefer to get bribes from the Koch Brothers and other right-wing billionaires," @SenatorCollins continued (probably) https://t.co/LW2IVfY3re — Tommy Vietor (@TVietor08) September 11, 2018 Susan Collins is complaining about citizen participation in democracy. Not a good look. #mepolitics https://t.co/dfvrPX8DTj — Topher Spiro (@TopherSpiro) September 11, 2018 Small donors matter, @SenatorCollins. I donated $20.20 to this @AdyBarkan campaign not as a method of extortion of bribery. It was to show you just how important #StopKavanaugh is to me. Clearly this is important to the 37,690 people who also donated to date. — Ellen McCain (@RespectWomen16) September 11, 2018 Political crowdfunding has become a big thing in 2018 Collins told Newsmax that the crowdfunding campaign out of Maine would not influence her vote at all and took a swipe at the groups organizing it. “I think it demonstrates the new lows to which the judge’s opponents have stooped,” she said. In the same statement, she described the campaign as a “quid pro quo” that essentially amounts to a “bribe.” It’s a signal that Collins is feeling the pressure from activists pushing her to vote no on Kavanaugh. But whether it’s actually a bribe isn’t really clear. As mentioned, the campaign isn’t offering to pay her if she votes no — if she does, everybody just gets their money back.<doc-sep>A group of student protesters on Friday marched outside Sen. Susan Collins Susan Margaret CollinsSchumer tees up vote on Jan. 6 commission bill Senators struggle to save Jan. 6 commission Overnight Health Care: Moderna says COVID-19 vaccine is 100 percent effective in 12- to 17-year-olds | US achieves full vaccinations for half of adults | Trump on Wuhan lab: Now everyone agrees 'I was right' MORE' (R-Maine) Maine office, demanding that she vote against President Trump Donald TrumpTrump lashes out after grand jury seated for New York criminal probe Schumer tees up vote on Jan. 6 commission bill Senators struggle to save Jan. 6 commission MORE's Supreme Court nominee, Brett Kavanaugh. ADVERTISEMENT Videos posted on Twitter by a photojournalist from the Press Herald show students from Bowdoin College marching on their way to Collins's office to protest Kavanaugh's confirmation. The students carried signs that said, "Collins, Stand For Our Futures, #VoteNoOnKavanaugh" and "Keep Your Theocracy off my Democracy" while chanting "hey hey, ho ho, Kavanaugh has got to go." A group of students from Bowdoin College march to Sen. Susan Collins’s office to rally and demand her to vote against the confirmation of Brett Kavanaugh to the U.S. Supreme Court. #VoteNoKavanaugh #protest pic.twitter.com/BOkcvVnHUN — Derek Davis (@derek_ddavis) September 14, 2018 A group of students from Bowdoin College march to Sen. Susan Collins’s office on Friday to rally and demand she vote against the confirmation of Brett Kavanaugh to the U.S. Supreme Court. #VoteNoOnKavanaugh #protest pic.twitter.com/OJCB3Y8xCc — Derek Davis (@derek_ddavis) September 14, 2018 Students protest outside the Portland office of Senator Susan Collins, urging her to vote against confirming Brett Kavanaugh to the Supreme Court. pic.twitter.com/Wdm7uJOEfe — The Bowdoin Orient (@bowdoinorient) September 14, 2018 Collins has received considerable attention in recent weeks because of the significant vote she holds over Kavanaugh's confirmation. She has previously stated that she would not vote for a nominee who was “hostile” toward the Roe v. Wade Supreme Court decision that legalized abortion. Many Democratic lawmakers and progressive groups have argued that Kavanaugh's confirmation to the court would put the legislation in jeopardy. A crowdfunding campaign with the goal of having Collins vote against Trump's Supreme Court pick surpassed $1 million earlier this week. The “Be A Hero” campaign encouraged people to donate about $20 to a future Collins Democratic challenger if she votes to confirm Kavanaugh. "I consider this quid pro quo fundraising to be the equivalent of an attempt to bribe me to vote against Judge Kavanaugh," Collins told conservative news outlet Newsmax. Collins and Sen. Lisa Murkowski Lisa Ann MurkowskiSchumer tees up vote on Jan. 6 commission bill Senators struggle to save Jan. 6 commission Overnight Health Care: Moderna says COVID-19 vaccine is 100 percent effective in 12- to 17-year-olds | US achieves full vaccinations for half of adults | Trump on Wuhan lab: Now everyone agrees 'I was right' MORE (R-Alaska) are seen as swing votes on the nominee due to the pair siding with Democrats in the past on issues such as abortion and ObamaCare. The Democrats would need two Republicans to join them in order to sink Kavanaugh's confirmation. Collins had a one-hour call with Kavanaugh on Friday, according to a spokesman for her office. The call was scheduled before reports of sexual misconduct accusations against Kavanaugh surfaced. The New Yorker reported on Friday that a letter details an incident between Kavanaugh and an unknown woman when they were in high school. The magazine reported that a woman accused Kavanaugh of holding "her down and that he attempted to force himself on her." Kavanaugh has released a statement denying this charge.<doc-sep>Maine Republican U.S. Sen. Susan Collins is a key vote in the confirmation process of Supreme Court nominee Brett Kavanaugh. As she continues to weigh her position on whether to support him, Collins is under close scrutiny, and has been subject to a lot of outside pressure — some of which she says have gone too far. While U.S. senators are always being lobbied hard by colleagues, special interests and constituents, Collins says efforts by groups and individuals who are opposed to Kavanaugh’s nomination have at times crossed the line of common decency. In recordings of voicemails provided by her office, callers spew profanities and threats. [Collins calls anti-Kavanaugh crowdfunding effort a ‘bribe’] Collins said one of the many voicemails stands out. “When I have a caller who tells a young staffer in my office who does case work that he hopes she is raped and impregnated, we have really reached a new low,” she said. Collins said constituents have every right to try to persuade her how to vote on any issue. She said she has met with both supporters and opponents of Judge Kavanaugh and discussed the nomination. But she said she will not be swayed by threatening phone calls or by a crowdfunding effort that says it has raised more than $1 million for whoever happens to be her opponent two years from now. [Collins not swayed by email indicating Kavanaugh questioned Roe v. Wade as settled law] “The people of Maine know me well enough that that’s not ever how I would make a decision, and I am deeply offended by this effort,” she said. Nor will her decision be affected by that of Maine Independent U.S. Sen. Angus King, who caucuses with the Democrats. Collins insists that she has not decided how she will vote and had more questions for Kavanaugh in the wake of his confirmation hearing. According to The Associated Press, Collins held an hourlong phone call with Kavanaugh on Friday, her spokeswoman confirmed. Collins had set up the call “to follow up on a few items that came up in the hearing,” she said. [Angus King says he’ll vote against Trump high court pick Kavanaugh] In addition to her staff researchers and her own reviews of documents and testimony, Collins said she has assembled a team of 19 lawyers, mostly from the Congressional Research Services. “I am wrapping up but obviously I am not going to, I have no artificial deadline to adhere to,” she said. The Senate Judiciary Committee is planning to vote on the nomination next week, and Majority Leader Mitch McConnell said he wants the full Senate to vote soon after. This article appears through a media partnership with Maine Public. Follow the Bangor Daily News on Facebook for the latest Maine news.<doc-sep>
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." More:'Vulgar' calls, threats and 'bribery': Kavanaugh pressure mounts for Sen. Collins More:Abortion-rights activists send hangers to Sen. Collins, hoping to influence her vote on court More:GOP senator: Supreme Court nominee Brett Kavanaugh considers Roe v. Wade 'settled law' 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. Jonathan Berkon, a partner in Perkins Coie’s Political Law Group, defended the crowdfunding campaign and said federal law protects the groups. "Through this grassroots effort, Mainers are making clear to Senator Collins that they will defeat her for reelection if she defies the will of the people and votes to confirm Judge Kavanaugh," he said in a statement provided by the crowdfunding campaign. "The First Amendment guarantees their right to do so. And federal law protects their right to pool their funds together now, when enthusiasm is at its peak, so that their campaign against a well-funded, four-term incumbent is viable two years from now. It is shameful that Republicans are using bogus legal threats to stifle this grassroots enthusiasm." Marie Follayttar, the co-director of Mainers for Accountable Leadership, dismissed the allegations as "politics at its worst." "The idea of Susan Collins attacking an effort by 35,000 small dollar donors as bribery is politics at its worst," Follayttar said. "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.