Trump Administration Killed 2024 FBI Bribery Probe of Susan Collins After $150,000 Super PAC Donation
Updated
Updated · ProPublica · Sep 22
Trump Administration Killed 2024 FBI Bribery Probe of Susan Collins After $150,000 Super PAC Donation
3 articles · Updated · ProPublica · Sep 22
Summary
FBI agents by late 2024 had sought approval for a broad bribery investigation into Sen. Susan Collins and other lawmakers after Navatek ex-CEO Martin Kao gave a 50-page roadmap alleging cash-for-contracts schemes.
Kao told investigators Collins' network sought donations while her office steered millions in Navy funding to Navatek, including an alleged $150,000 shell-company gift to her super PAC and promises tied to as much as $32 million in contracts.
That effort collapsed after Trump returned to office and purged FBI and DOJ public-corruption teams; agents tied to the case were forced out, prosecutors quit, and the bureau stopped pursuing Kao as a cooperating witness.
Collins' office denied bribery and said the campaign disgorged illegal contributions without knowing their source, while the FBI said earlier reviews found nothing implicating the senator or her campaign.
ProPublica says the abandoned case exposed a wider Washington pay-to-play system in which Navatek and associates donated nearly $900,000 while building a business that drew more than $40 million a year in government funding.