UPDATE: The Portland Press Herald has this story about how Collins and Snowe feel about Stevens’ conviction. U.S. Sen. Olympia Snowe said he should step down. Collins said it should be up to the voters.

U.S. Sen. Susan Collins (R-Bangor) has given $10,000 this cycle to Sen. Ted Stevens (R-Alaska), who was convicted Monday on seven counts of violating federal ethics laws for not reporting gifts from lobbyists.

Collins gave to Stevens through her committee, Dirigo PAC, in two $5,000 donations. The first occurred on June 18, 2007, before news of the federal investigation came to light. The second occurred June 11, 2008, after the investigation became public and several weeks before Stevens was indicted.

When asked why Collins chose to donate to Stevens the second time, campaign spokesman Kevin Kelley replied in an email: “It is common for members of Congress to donate to their colleagues’ campaigns.”

Stevens had given Collins $10,000 toward her reelection bid through his committee, the Northern Lights PAC. After he was indicted, Collins’ campaign announced that it would give the funds to charity.

The campaign gave the money to ten different charities, including the Good Shepherd Food Bank and the Bangor Area Homeless Shelter.

The Collins campaign pointed out a donation from a controversial figure to its opponent, U.S. Rep. Tom Allen (D-Portland).

Allen has accepted $10,000 from U.S. Rep. Charlie Rangel (D-N.Y.), the chairman of the House Ways and Means Committee, who is under investigation by the House Ethics Committee for failing to pay back taxes. Rangel refused to step away from his chairmanship, and the House failed to approve a motion which would have removed him.

Carol Andrews, spokeswoman for Allen, said Rangel’s situation is different than Stevens’ – as it is a Congressional investigation and not a criminal investigation.