(AP) — Three former executives of a Hawaiʻi-based defense contractor are pleading not guilty Wednesday to charges of funneling more than $200,000 in illegal donations to aid the reelection campaign of Republican Sen. Susan Collins of Maine. Former Navatek CEO Martin Kao and two others were indicted earlier this month on charges of using company credit cards, a shell company and individual shell donors to make illegal contributions. Kao, Lawrence “Kahele” Lum Kee and Clifford Chen pleaded not guilty Wednesday. The three are no longer part of the marine engineering company, which changed its name to Martin Defense Group in 2020.

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