Tuesday, October 28, 2008

Gang of Nine

Sen. Collins was one of nine Republican senators to funnel money to Sen. Ted Stevens (R-AK) through a leadership PAC in the weeks leading up to Stevens' indictment, an analysis of campaign finance data at fec.gov shows.

Stevens recorded contributions from nine fellow senators on or after June 11, 2008. He was indicted on July 29.

UPDATE: Some more numbers:

--By our count, Stevens has received 50 disclosed contributions from the leadership PACs of 30 GOP Senate colleagues, including two from Susan Collins. (That number does not include contributions made to him by his own PAC.)

--17 colleagues, including Collins, gave him the maximum allowed contribution of $10,000.

--Among candidates in contested Senate races, only three gave to Stevens in 2008, at a time when the seriousness of the case against him was undeniable: Collins, Sen John Cornyn (R-TX) and Sen. John Sununu (R-NH).

--For 18 GOP senators, including Sen. Snowe, we can find no evidence of a contribution to Stevens this cycle.

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