Key facts
- Senator Susan Collins dismissed allegations of corruption as 'completely false'.
- Collins stated the allegations were recycled from 2020 and had been rejected by the Department of Justice, the FBI, and the Federal Election Commission.
- ProPublica reported that former Navatek CEO Martin Kao claimed his company won federal funding by bankrolling politicians, with Collins as his most important patron.
- Kao claimed Collins's super PAC chair asked him for $500,000 and that Collins's office later promised to secure $32 million in naval contracts.
- ProPublica reported that FBI agents sought to open a broader bribery investigation in 2024, which collapsed after Donald Trump returned to office.
- No one in Collins's orbit was charged.
US Senator Susan Collins has dismissed allegations of corruption as "completely false," stating that claims of trading federal contracts for campaign cash are recycled and have been rejected by multiple agencies. Collins, a Republican campaigning for re-election ahead of November's US midterm elections, denied knowing Martin Kao, the former chief executive of defense contractor Navatek, who is serving 87 months for fraud and campaign finance crimes.
ProPublica reported that Kao told FBI agents and prosecutors his company won millions in federal funding by bankrolling politicians, with Collins his most important patron. Kao claimed the head of Collins's super PAC asked him for $500,000 in 2019, after which he sent $150,000 through a shell company, and that Collins's office later promised to secure $32 million in naval contracts. ProPublica reported that the Senate allocated at least $10 million that year based on Navatek's proposals.
The outlet also reported that FBI agents sought to open a broader bribery investigation in 2024, which collapsed after Donald Trump returned to office and purged the bureau’s public corruption teams. No one in Collins's orbit was charged. Kao declined to be interviewed, and the super PAC chair, Scott Reed, denied discussing Kao or Navatek with Collins or her staff.