ProPublica reports that FBI anti‑corruption agents examined whether Sen. Susan Collins was tied to a pay‑for‑play scheme involving Navatek and its CEO, Martin Kao. Kao allegedly sought millions in federal support in 2019 and discussed a $500,000 donation to Collins’ super PAC. He later cooperated with investigators, providing a detailed 50‑page document and naming dozens of figures; he was indicted for illegal contributions. The probe reportedly stalled after a 2025 reshuffle at the FBI, and the bureau says it found no evidence implicating Collins.
ProPublica: FBI Anti‑Corruption Team Investigated Susan Collins Over Navatek Bribery Claims — Probe Stalled After Trump’s 2025 Return
(Francis Chung/POLITICO via AP Images)
FBI anti‑corruption agents investigated whether Maine Republican Senator Susan Collins was implicated in a pay‑for‑play scheme tied to Hawaiian defense contractor Navatek and its CEO, Martin Kao, according to a ProPublica report published Tuesday.
The inquiry reportedly centered on discussions in 2019 in which Kao sought millions in federal support for Navatek and allegedly spoke with Scott Reed, the head of Collins’ super PAC. Reed is said to have requested a $500,000 contribution as part of those talks. Government contractors are barred from political contributions, and offering donations in exchange for official action would raise potential bribery concerns.
What Investigators Found
ProPublica reports that Kao later faced a grand‑jury indictment for illegal campaign contributions and cooperated extensively with FBI investigators. He allegedly provided a 50‑page document naming dozens of lobbyists, congressional staffers and members of Congress, and described an operation in which Kao and his associates donated nearly $900,000 to dozens of politicians. Navatek’s federal work reportedly generated more than $40 million a year in government funding, and Kao said the donations helped open operations in multiple states.
"Kao laid out in devastating detail how his operation worked. He gave agents a 50‑page document naming dozens of lobbyists, congressional staffers and members of Congress who he said helped him trade cash for contracts."
Probe Stalled After 2025 Shakeup
ProPublica says the anti‑corruption team’s work unraveled after President Donald Trump returned to the White House in 2025. Officials involved in the Kao probe — including the investigator who took Kao’s cooperation and who had also worked on a probe into Trump’s attempts to overturn the 2020 election — were reassigned or removed, and the subsequent inquiry based on Kao’s cooperation "is dead," the outlet reported.
An FBI spokesperson, Ben Williamson, told ProPublica the bureau’s review "ultimately found nothing implicating Senator Collins or Senator Collins' campaign. Any suggestion otherwise is totally false." Williamson did not answer additional questions about a new investigation opened in 2024 that, according to the report, relied on Kao’s previously unreported cooperation.
Senator Collins’ office strongly denied wrongdoing. In an email to ProPublica, Collins’ deputy chief of staff Annie Clark said the senator "vigorously" denies any bribery or pay‑for‑play conduct and described Kao’s claims as "outlandish." Clark noted that the Collins campaign returned the illegal contributions Kao had made without the campaign’s knowledge, and said the involvement of the FBI and the Biden‑led Department of Justice demonstrates the matter was examined.
Senator Collins is preparing to defend her seat in the upcoming midterm election against Democratic challenger Troy Jackson in a race that has drawn national attention in Maine.
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