Story perspectives

FBI Ends Probe Into Susan Collins’ Navatek Pay-to-Play

By Drooid · Sep 23, 2026, 3:26 PM UTC · How we work

Left

Pay for Contracts

ProPublica reported that Maine Senator Susan Collins was linked to a pay-to-play scheme with contractor Navatek, and that FBI investigation was closed.
The report stresses that taxpayer money may have been steered to Navatek in exchange for campaign donations, highlighting public-accountability concerns.
Collins’ super PAC received hundreds of thousands from Navatek during 2020 reelection campaign.
Emails reveal Collins’ staff thanked Navatek CEO Martin Kao and sought help obtaining federal contracts.

Right

Accuser Convicted Fraud

ProPublica reported that Maine Senator Susan Collins was linked to a pay-to-play scheme with contractor Navatek, and that the FBI investigation was closed.
Collins’s office called the claims categorically false, noting accuser Martin Kao was convicted of money-laundering and bank fraud.
Annie Clark said the FBI had not contacted Collins’s office about Kao since 2021.
Troy Jackson accused Collins of corruption, tying her voting record to President Donald Trump.

Center

FBI Clears Collins

ProPublica reported that Maine Senator Susan Collins was linked to a pay-to-play scheme with contractor Navatek, and that the FBI investigation closed.
Center coverage highlights the FBI’s finding of no evidence against Collins and her campaign’s full cooperation.
A CNN/SSRS poll showed Jackson leading 48%-45% as his Polymarket odds rose to 74%.
An FBI spokesperson said the investigation concluded with no evidence implicating Collins or her campaign.

Blindspot

ProPublica obtained emails in which Senator Collins’s staff thanked Navatek CEO Martin Kao and asked him to help secure federal contracts.
Within this story's sources, this angle appears mainly in Left-leaning coverage and receives less attention in Center-leaning coverage.

History

Historical Context

After the 1989 collapse of Charles Keating’s Lincoln Savings, the Senate Ethics Committee reported in 1991 that five senators had received about $1.3 million in Keating contributions and improperly intervened in the Federal Home Loan Bank Board probe. The scandal spurred modest 1993 ethics rules and the 2002 McCain-Feingold reform, yet recent allegations involving Senator Susan Collins show those safeguards remain contested.

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Pay for Contracts

ProPublica reported that Maine Senator Susan Collins was linked to a pay-to-play scheme with contractor Navatek, and that FBI investigation was closed.
The report stresses that taxpayer money may have been steered to Navatek in exchange for campaign donations, highlighting public-accountability concerns.
Collins’ super PAC received hundreds of thousands from Navatek during 2020 reelection campaign.
Emails reveal Collins’ staff thanked Navatek CEO Martin Kao and sought help obtaining federal contracts.

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