A prominent election denier with ties to Ginni Thomas was implicated in a far-reaching corruption plot involving Sen. Susan Collins (R-ME).
ProPublica reported that Martin Kao, former CEO of the Hawaii-based defense firm Navatek, told FBI agents and federal prosecutors in 2022 – when he was facing years in prison after pleading guilty to finance and fraud charges – that his company had systematically traded campaign donations for congressional appropriations, naming dozens of lawmakers, staffers and lobbyists in a 50-page document.
Navatek’s relationship with Sen. Susan Collins (R-ME) was central in the pay-to-play scheme, according to emails reviewed by ProPublica, but a reporter for the outlet flagged the involvement of MAGA election denier Cleta Mitchell in an apparent coverup of a campaign contribution.
“Don’t sleep on the part where we bust Cleta Mitchell (yes, that one) for helping to hatch a campaign finance cover-up,” posted ProPublica’s Jesse Eisinger, whose name is not listed on the byline for this report.
According to the report, a watchdog group and a Hawaii reporter looked into a $150,000 contribution in 2019 to Collins’ super PAC through the “Society of Young Women Scientist and Engineers” and found that organization actually a shell company traced back to Kao’s wife.
“Inside Navatek, Kao shifted into damage control mode,” ProPublica reported. “He spoke to [Scott Reed, head of the Collins super PAC] and the super PAC’s lawyer, Cleta Mitchell, and began to hatch a cover-up.”
An email released through civil litigation showed Mitchell suggesting the society make strategically targeted charitable donations in Maine to lend a veneer of credibility to the group.
“I want to be sure that the LLC proceeds with the ideas we discussed — giving scholarships and recognition to women in engineering, etc.,” wrote Mitchell. “That would help both of us, I think.”
“We should develop a plan and timetable,” she added, “so there are some scholarships given over the next several months, and particularly, perhaps in Maine, where the bad press was.”
The FBI launched a probe into Kao’s claims to investigators, but investigation fell apart after President Donald Trump returned to office and demanded a purge of anyone who had ever investigated him – which resulted in the decimation of teams handling public corruption investigations.
Mitchell, who went on to play a major role the following year to assist Trump’s efforts to overturn his 2020 election loss, did not respond to requests for comment about her work for the super PAC.
Since 2020, Mitchell has built the Election Integrity Network that monitors polling places, challenged state voter rolls and pushed for changes to state election laws, and she also serves as senior legal fellow at the Conservative Partnership Institute and president of Foundation for Accountability Integrity & Research in Elections.
Mitchell has been involved in past political efforts with Thomas, the wife of Supreme Court Justice Clarence Thomas and an election denier herself.
The post Ginni Thomas pal ensnared in alleged campaign finance cover-up: report appeared first on Raw Story.
