Susan Collins Hit with ‘Explosive’ Bribery Claims

Sen. Susan Collins is forcefully pushing back against explosive new allegations involving a convicted defense contractor, calling the claims a political “smear job” as she fights to keep her Maine Senate seat.

The controversy erupted after ProPublica reported that former defense contractor executive Martin Kao told federal investigators that political donations were allegedly tied to efforts to secure millions of dollars in government contracts.

Kao, who is now serving federal prison time, claimed his company funneled $150,000 through a shell company to a super PAC supporting Collins during her 2020 reelection campaign.

What is not in dispute is that the contribution itself was illegal.

Federal prosecutors previously charged Kao over the scheme, and in September 2022 he pleaded guilty to conspiring to make unlawful campaign contributions, making unlawful contributions and causing false information to be submitted to the Federal Election Commission. The Justice Department said Kao used a shell company to disguise a $150,000 contribution made with money from a federal government contractor.

But the new allegations go considerably further.

According to ProPublica, Kao later told FBI agents that the contribution was part of a broader pay-to-play arrangement in which Navatek, the defense contractor he ran, sought political help obtaining federal contracts.

Kao alleged that after discussions involving Scott Reed, who headed the 1820 PAC supporting Collins, Navatek routed the $150,000 contribution through the shell company. Kao claimed he expected Collins to know where the money had originated and that the company would receive help securing additional federal funding.

Those claims have not been proven in court, and Collins has not been charged with bribery or any other crime related to the matter.

Collins responded sharply Wednesday.

“I’ve got to say, I do not understand how anyone would take the word of a felon who’s been convicted twice,” Collins told Wall Street Journal columnist Kim Strassel, pointing to Kao’s convictions for offenses including fraud, money laundering and campaign-finance crimes.

She separately told Punchbowl News that the report was a “political hit job” and suggested its release during her closely watched reelection campaign was politically motivated.

“This is a smear job,” Collins said. “And as someone who has always prided herself on serving with integrity, it really offends me.”

Kao’s credibility is a central issue in the dispute.

In addition to his campaign-finance conviction, Kao was sentenced in February 2025 to 87 months in federal prison in a separate case involving COVID-relief fraud, money laundering and bank fraud. A federal judge also ordered him to pay more than $12.8 million in restitution.

At the same time, portions of the campaign-finance scheme Kao described have been independently established through federal proceedings.

The Federal Election Commission investigated the $150,000 contribution to 1820 PAC and ultimately determined that Navatek, later renamed PacMar Technologies, knowingly used government contractor funds to make a contribution in another entity’s name.

The company agreed to pay a $325,000 civil penalty in 2025. The FEC closed the case after reaching that agreement and took no further action against 1820 PAC over the contribution.

That distinction is important: federal authorities established that the money was illegally concealed, but that finding by itself does not establish that Collins participated in or knew of a bribery scheme.

ProPublica’s investigation raises additional questions about what happened behind the scenes.

The outlet reported reviewing emails and other records showing that Collins’ office advocated for Navatek projects while Kao and people connected to his company were making political contributions.

One email cited by ProPublica reportedly came seven days after the super PAC received the $150,000 check and showed a PAC employee asking a Navatek lobbyist for Kao’s phone number because “Senator Collins would like to call Martin to thank him.”

ProPublica also reported that FBI agents questioned Kao extensively about Collins and other lawmakers during cooperation sessions that continued into 2024.

According to the outlet, agents later received approval for a broader public-corruption investigation after reviewing records and information supplied by Kao. ProPublica reported that the effort was disrupted amid personnel changes at the Justice Department and FBI after President Donald Trump returned to office.

The FBI disputes any suggestion that its earlier work established wrongdoing by Collins.

FBI spokesman Ben Williamson told ProPublica that the agency previously investigated allegations involving the senator and “ultimately found nothing implicating Senator Collins or Senator Collins’ campaign.”

Williamson did not answer ProPublica’s questions about the separate investigative activity the outlet says began in 2024.

Collins similarly said that the Justice Department and FBI had already cleared her office, campaign and herself of allegations stemming from years earlier.

Her office has described Kao’s bribery allegations as “outlandish” and denied any pay-to-play arrangement.

The controversy arrives at a politically sensitive moment in Maine, where Collins is running for another term against Democratic nominee Troy Jackson. The race has attracted national attention because of the narrow balance of power in the U.S. Senate.

Jackson and other Maine Democrats have seized on the ProPublica investigation and called for additional answers, while Collins and her allies argue that the report relies heavily on allegations from a convicted fraudster seeking favorable treatment from prosecutors.

For now, the public record establishes two very different things.

Kao’s effort to secretly route contractor money into the pro-Collins super PAC resulted in a criminal guilty plea and an FEC enforcement action. But the allegation that Collins herself knowingly traded official action for political contributions remains disputed, and no criminal charge has been filed against her in connection with the alleged bribery arrangement.