Home
Creators
Search Recent Missing Random
Posts
Search DMs Popular Hash Lookup Tags Random
Importer
Import FAQ
Register Favorites Keys Review DMs Logout
Community
Telegram ThePornDude
Home Creators Posts Import Register Favorites Logout

He Went to Prison for Bribing Susan Collins. She's... Totally Fine Somehow? (Patreon)

Published:
2026-09-25 07:27:50
Imported:
2026-09

Downloads

Content

OA1299 - This week on Rapid Response Friday: what crimes might Senator Susan Collins (R-ME) have been complicit in, and why won't she ever be prosecuted for any of them? We go deeper into the law behind the facts exposed in ProPublica's outstanding investigation into her SuperPAC's coordination of illegal campaign contributions from a naval defense contractor.

We then take a closer look at another damning investigation, this time of the Florida state-run immigration facility formerly known as "Alligator Alcatraz" from a surprising source: the Department of Homeland Security's Office of the Inspector General. We already knew this place was an illegal black site polluting a delicate Everglades ecosystem on tribal lands, but this report documents something much worse. If a Trump loyalist is willing to put some of this stuff into writing how much worse must the truth be?

Finally, in this week's footnote: yet another dismal milestone for AI in the law as a New Mexico attorney is forced to defend an appellate brief in which ChatGPT made up the law and the facts.

Cases and sources discussed:

“The FBI Anti-Corruption Squad Was Circling Susan Collins — Until Trump Got in the Way,” William Turton, Avi Asher-Schapiro, Molly Redden, and Kristen Berg, ProPublica (9/22/2026)

Indictment in U.S. v. Kao et al (2/10/2022)

“Unannounced Inspection of ICE’s Florida Soft-Sided Facility (“Alligator Alcatraz”) in Ochopee, Florida,” Department of Homeland Security Office of Inspector General (9/11/2026)

In Re Stephen Aarons, New Mexico Supreme Court #S-1-SC-40845

Show Cause Hearing: State v. Sandoval, S-1-SC-40845 (8/21/2026)

Check out the OA Linktree for all the places to go and things to do!

Files

Comments

Alex

Alligator Alcatraz will see you later - atraz Crocodile Alcatraz will see you in a while - atraz

Chris Conley

Alligator heads look like D Crocodile heads look like >

William Curran

Former Navatek employee here. Glad this has finally come to light. It's mostly been reported in local papers for years. Martin was a crazy asshole, refusing COVID existed, insisting he had some rare form of blood that makes him immune to disease, and a power hungry liar. https://www.civilbeat.org/2020/03/this-hawaii-defense-contractor-has-emerged-as-a-major-political-player/ https://www.civilbeat.org/2023/07/hawaii-defense-contractors-likely-to-get-probation-for-campaign-violations/ A bunch of us ex employees would always gripe about how this didn't "take down" Susan Collins. But we kind of figured her team was too smart to put their name on anything. The Navatek side was not that smart, obviously. A lot of the scientists who worked there really did think the science was good work. Pro publica did us a bit wrong there. R&D organizations do science to prove out ideas and then have other bigger companies actually build them and sell them. Here's an example https://techport.nasa.gov/projects/112806 Also, there's a huge incentive for states to keep educated folks from leaving the state. That was the big selling point for people like me to be involved, getting to work with treams of young PhD. I'd go to Deans of Engineering and offer to pay for part of a PhD tuition and to set up local satellite in the area. The big sign that those meetings were set up was the day I was sitting in USC dean of engineering office and the "office of Lindsey Graham" called asking about money. Gave my boss an ear full on the flight home and quit not too long after.

Matt Cameron

Wow, ty for this perspective--and good on you for getting out when you did. i did get the sense that Navatek was doing real R+D work, but i'll have to look more into the PP claims as to the products. Good to know that Kao was not wrongfully prosecuted here, sounds like he really had it coming.

El dia del pan

If in 2028 congress passes a law curtailing or eliminating qualified immunity for ICE agents and others who have been violating the rights of immigrants, could they be charged for acts between 2024-2028? On one hand, ex post facto laws are unconstitutional, on the other hand any charges would be for crimes already on the books. I'm not familiar with whether there's precedent to pin down how this works. I'm assuming they can't be charged for acts that were (at the time) protected by immunity... if so that's part of the reason I ask. I'm sure a lot of voters on the left want to see accountability, but it's important to understand what would actually be feasible.

Status Quo Level Thing

Oh my god, this episode… talk about a news hose!!! Favorite quote related to my own Maine politics, per Thomas: “Yeah! Let’s go Maine! Vote that guy, whoever.”

Ryan

As anticipated, corruption remains lawful. AI should stop offering excuses and be used, with lawyers held accountable—that is the point. Did that attorney overlook Mata v Avianca or the Dershowitz matter in the Ninth Circuit?

Susan

Salazar is running for reelection. The Miami Herald endorsed her opponent. Here’s part of the Miami Herald column: Although the district leans red, this race is expected to be competitive, and it is about more than just this seat — it’s about holding President Donald Trump accountable on issues like tariffs, the Iran war, the weaponization of the federal government and mass deportations. Rodriguez, a Democrat, is better suited to do that than Salazar, who’s endorsed by Trump, though she broke with him recently on deportations. Rodriguez first became publicly involved in politics last year, when he joined a South Florida campaign called Keep Them Honest that called out Miami’s GOP representatives, including Salazar, for not doing enough to oppose Trump’s immigration policies. He said ICE (U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement) has “become a paramilitary group for Donald Trump” and it “needs to be reformed drastically.” “I am not for open borders, and I believe in a strong border security, and I believe that we should abide by the rules of the game, but not by picking up people in courtrooms when they’re trying to do everything by the rules, grabbing them and taking them... to third countries,” Rodriguez told the Herald Editorial Board in July. Rodriguez is against the war in Iran and said it’s another reason he’s running — “because we need to stand up to this president.” He wants the U.S. House to “force a vote in Congress on this war.” Salazar, by contrast, voted against ending the war in September. In March, she told Bloomberg TV that the war would not be “a long-term conflict” and that congressional approval was not needed “because we are not entering into a war.” Her predictions were wrong: The conflict has stretched for almost seven months, raising gas prices. Salazar “proudly voted YES” to pass Trump’s signature Big Beautiful Bill, as she wrote on social media last year. She wrote the bill “cuts taxes, protects your tips and overtime.” Here’s what else it did: it cut food stamps and Medicaid and turned ICE into the highest-funded federal law enforcement agency, Read more at: https://www.miamiherald.com/opinion/election-recommendations/article317372876.html#storylink=cpy