FBI probed Sen. Susan Collins campaign corruption until 2025: reports

The FBI in 2025 ended an investigation into allegations that a fundraiser for Sen. Susan Collins, R-Maine, had participated in an illegal campaign donation scheme, reports say.

The inquiry, first reported by ProPublica on Sept. 22, was based on previously undisclosed interviews between imprisoned Navatek CEO Martin Kao and federal investigators.

In 2022, Kao pleaded guilty to illegal campaign contributions after prosecutors said he used a shell company and family members to conceal dipping into government contractor funds to donate to a super PAC supporting Collins' reelection campaign in 2020. According to ProPublica and The New York Times, Kao said Collins' team was aware of the scheme and the donation was made on the understanding that she would award naval contracts to his company, Navatek, a Hawaii-based military contractor.

Navatek did receive millions of dollars in federal contracts, but Collins' deputy chief of staff Annie Clark called the allegations of her wrongdoing "categorically false."

"The Collins campaign cooperated fully with the FBI throughout the investigation, producing all of the documents it requested and serving as fact witnesses in official settings," Clark said in a statement on X. "These issues were resolved in 2021, and the FBI has not contacted us…

Original source: https://www.usatoday.com/news/nation/