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I was a longtime Auburn resident and used to be a Republican.

As reported recently by ProPublica, a serious and potentially career-ending allegation was made against Sen. Susan Collins. Did she illegally channel government contracts to a Hawaiian defense contractor that paid her campaign through a fake company it concocted to hide what it was doing?

Will Sen. Collins agree to do a town hall or an interview with the ProPublica journalists to discuss the facts and points detailed in the ProPublica reporting? It appears her response thus far has been to have her staff blow smoke and for Collins to shoot the messenger, i.e., the journalists at ProPublica. She has essentially taken a clue from our president and yelled “fake news.”

But, ProPublica is a respected reporting source dedicated to holding government representatives to account. It report that it has reviewed thousands of emails never previously revealed, and it has interviewed many persons close to the case who have corroborated much of the reporting. It has the receipts, unfortunately for Collins.

Why did her campaign staff agree to accept $150,000 from a shell company hiding the source as a government contractor?

On the face of it, the ProPublica article is damning to Collins. Other than repeating “fake news,” how can she defend herself? I have no idea. But, for the first time in over 25 years, the public should hear from her live and in person. She should meet with voters. Failing her agreement to do so, she should sit for a thorough interview with ProPublica. Mainers deserve to know, to paraphrase Richard M. Nixon, if their U.S. senator is a crook.

Daniel Mawhinney
Portland