Susan Collins, the Republican U.S. senator from Maine, is in a close election battle that could determine which party controls that chamber after Nov. 3. She benefited from illegal contributions from a defense contractor she helped win federal money. A report from ProPublica published on Tuesday said that by the end of 2024 the FBI was pursuing a probe into what amounts to a pay-for-play operation involving Collins.
It started, according to ProPublica, in 2019, when Scott Reed, who was the head of a pro-Collins super PAC, met with three executives from Navatek, a Hawaii defense contractor. After the meeting, Navatek’s CEO, Martin Kao, sent $150,000 to the super PAC.
Kao reportedly told the FBI that his company’s work provided no real value to the U.S. government. Regardless, it is illegal for government contractors to make political contributions.
Collins helped steer millions of dollars in defense funding to Navatek, and Kao told company executives that she had committed to getting it $32 million in naval contracts. The money for the super PAC was routed through a shell company to hide its source. Kao pleaded guilty in 2022 to making illegal campaign contributions.
According to ProPublica, Collins was not the only politician under scrutiny for illegal fundraising. Kao gave the FBI a list of lawmakers, and the probe could have ensnared members of both parties.
The investigation into Collins went nowhere, however. After Trump was elected for the second time, the Justice Department’s anti-corruption prosecutors were ordered to drop cases, and FBI Director Kash Patel purged the bureau’s anti-corruption squad agent by agent.
Collins has not been charged with any crime, and her office told ProPublica it “vigorously” denies Kao’s allegations, calling them “outlandish.”
News of this scandal is the last thing Republicans want just weeks before the crucial election in Maine. Collins and her Democratic challenger, Troy Jackson, are virtually tied in the polls, and the winner could well determine the outcome of the effort to take control of the Senate away from the GOP.
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