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The campaign of Hannah Pingree, the Democrat who isthe front-runner in Maine’s gubernatorialrace in November, has refunded $300 in donations from a U.S. Virgin Islands man who previously served as Jeffrey Epstein’s attorney in business matters.
Paul Hoffman, who lives in the U.S. Caribbean territory, made three $100 donations to Pingree’s gubernatorial campaign between May and June, per Maine campaign finance reports.
While the contributions represent a tiny fraction of the more than $4.2 million that the former Maine House speaker from North Haven has raised since launching her campaign to succeed Gov. Janet Mills, the Pingree campaign said Monday afternoon that it has returned the money. That update came after the Portland Press Herald reached out earlier Monday to ask the campaign for comment on the donations, which were highlighted in a tip about people previously affiliated with Epstein.
“When Paul Hoffman’s background and contribution was brought to our attention, we immediately refunded his $300 in full,” Pingree campaign spokesperson Mary-Erin Casale said.
Hoffman has not been accused of any criminal wrongdoing for his past work with Epstein, which focused on business dealings. He had also served as an attorney for financier Donald Sussman, the former Press Herald owner and ex-husband of U.S. Rep. Chellie Pingree, the 1st District Democrat and mother of the gubernatorial candidate.
Hoffman gave a few thousand dollars to the congresswoman between 2007 and 2016, and he gave $250 to U.S. Sen. Angus King, I-Maine, in 2012, according to federal campaign finance records.
Still, it’s the latest example ofEpstein-related falloutaffectingpolitical races in several statesthis year. Wealthy donors with past ties to Epsteinhave givento U.S. Sen. Susan Collins, R-Maine, and her political committees — though a recent ad from a super PAC that supports Senate Democrats went a bit far inclaimingone Collins donor was business partners with Epstein.
Epstein spent time over the years with a vast array of well-known individuals and politicians, includingformer U.S. Sen. George Mitchell, D-Maine. On Monday, the University of Maine System board of trusteesvoted to rebrand campus programsbearing the name of the former Senate majority leader, who was mentioned hundreds of times in the Epstein files.
The New York financier took his own life in jail in 2019 at the age of 66 while awaiting the outcome of his federal sex trafficking case. In 2008, Epstein was convicted in Florida of soliciting prostitution from a child.
Congresspassed a billlast November to require the federal government to release troves of files on Epstein, and all four members of Maine’s congressional delegation voted for it. President Donald Trump, who knew Epstein and is mentioned in the files,signedthe legislation after initially opposing that effort.
It’s not clear how long Hoffman served as Epstein’s attorney. Past news coveragenoted, for example, a letter and $7,500 check that Hoffman sent in 2004 on Epstein’s behalf to the University of the Virgin Islands to “protect coral reefs” after officials had cited Epstein for destroying hard corals with illegal construction.
Hoffman could not be reached for comment Monday through a phone number listed for him online.
LawyersJeff SchantzandErika Kellerhals, who also have ties to the U.S. Virgin Islands and Epstein, gave Chellie Pingree a combined sum of more than $20,000 between 2007 and 2011, records show. A spokesperson said Monday that at the time of the donations, the congresswoman was not aware of any ties to Epstein that later came to light.
