An interesting complaint was filed with the Federal Election Commission today by the Campaign Legal Center, a nonprofit, nonpartisan group based in Washington, D.C.

The CLC complaint names an unknown Hawaii organization, Society of Young Women Scientist and Engineers, LLC, and alleges that the group may have made an illegal $150,000 campaign contribution to a political action committee supporting the reelection of Sen. Susan Collins of Maine.

The Society filed its initial business registration with the State of Hawaii on November 26, 2019. A single person’s name appears on the registration–Jennifer Lam, using a Honolulu post office box address at the downtown post office.

Apart from the business registration filing, a search of related public records finds no record of the group or Jennifer Lam. No one by that name, by the organization name, or at the group’s address has made a campaign contribution in Hawaii in the years since 2006. There has been no campaign committee or committee officer registered at that address.

The complaint says no evidence can be found that the group has ever conducted business or any operations, or that it had any source of income it could have drawn on to make a contribution of that size.

Because SYWSE does not have a website, social media account, search engine presence, or business record, the available facts do not suggest that SYWSE conducted any business or had sufficient income from assets, investment earnings, business revenues, or bona fide capital investments to cover the $150,000 contribution to 1820 PAC at the time the contribution was made, without an infusion of funds provided to them for that purpose. The temporal proximity between SYWSE’s formation and its contribution, viewed in the context of its overall activities, strongly suggests that it received funds for the specific purpose of making this contribution: SYWSE was formed on November 26, 2019, then made a $150,000 contribution on December 31, 2019.

CLC argues that, based on the lack of information about the group or its source of funding, “there is reason to believe” that it was set up to make a contribution designed to conceal the identity of the actual donor.

Democrats are hoping to defeat Collins in her reelection bid due to her continuing support for President Trump, going back to her vote for the confirmation of Brett Kavanaugh.

It’s certainly going to be interesting to watch as this situation unfolds.

See: “Susan Collins’ Campaign Is Being Helped by a Mysterious Hawaii Company,” The Daily Beast, February 3, 2020.