The FBI anti-corruption squad was circling Susan Collins — until Trump got in the way

By: William Turton, ProPublica, Avi Asher-Schapiro, ProPublica, Molly Redden, ProPublica, Kirsten Berg, ProPublica

Outlets: Minnesota Reformer

Published: September 22, 2026

Words: 6,001

Last Updated: 3 weeks, 5 days ago

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This story was originally published by ProPublica.

In the final weeks of 2019, a top fundraiser for Sen. Susan Collins walked into a perilous meeting at a Corner Bakery in Washington, D.C.

For the first time in her two-decade Senate career, the Republican lawmaker from Maine was in danger of losing her seat. President Donald Trump’s dismal approval ratings were dragging her down in the polls, and she was falling behind her likely …

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