Susan Collins Was Implicated in an FBI Corruption Probe, Only To Be Bailed Out by Donald Trump

A report published by ProPublica reveals why Maine’s incumbent senator is the favorite among billionaires

Photo by Tia Dufour on Wikimedia Commons (public domain)

As the battle for Maine’s US Senate seat heats up with a little over a month before voters take to the polls in November, a bombshell report from ProPublica underscores why Susan Collins, the Republican incumbent, remains the undisputed favorite among corrupt billionaires and Washington elites.

Moreover, it suggests a much closer relationship between the five-term senator and the Trump administration than was previously known, despite the former falsely portraying herself as an impartial moderate.

According to the ProPublica report, the FBI in 2024 suspected Collins and her team were complicit in an illegal pay-to-play scheme involving a Hawaii-based maritime defense contractor, Navatek — only to have the investigation abruptly shut down as Trump returned to office in 2025.

Navatek’s former CEO, Martin Kao, allegedly used a shell company to funnel thousands of dollars to federal lawmakers for favorable business deals, including $150,000 to Collins’ 2020 reelection campaign, in exchange for her sworn support to secure an additional $32 million in naval contracts for the company.

As noted by the report, government contractors are forbidden from making political contributions, and this kind of pay-to-play scheme would constitute criminal bribery.

Although nobody on Collins’ team was charged, Kao had eventually been indicted by a grand jury in 2022 for making illegal campaign contributions and was later sentenced to 33 months in prison.

Throughout 2024, in an attempt to reduce his sentence, Kao gave federal investigators a detailed description of exactly how the scheme worked and the names of everyone involved — including dozens of lobbyists, congressional staffers, and members of Congress (such as Collins) who made it all possible.

By the end of the year, the FBI had enough evidence to pursue a sweeping bribery probe across Washington to ensnare top lawmakers using undercover operatives, but as soon as Trump returned to office — ushering in the most corrupt administration in American history — the entire matter was conveniently dropped.

Troy Jackson, the Democratic candidate running to unseat Collins, called her role in the scheme “corruption of the highest order,” arguing that she doesn’t care about what happens to the people of Maine “as long as her donors get their contracts and her coffers get filled.”

As is to be expected, Collins has denied the allegations, claiming that the Biden Justice Department in 2021 had found no wrongdoing by anyone on her campaign staff. “The Biden-led Justice Department and FBI totally cleared my office,” she told reporters earlier this week.

Nevertheless, the focus of ProPublica’s reporting is based specifically on the information provided by Kao between his grand jury indictment and eventual sentencing — not the original 2021 probe the senator mentions. In this case, the FBI had remained interested in Collins’ corrupt dealings as late as 2025, ending only once Trump’s purges began.

In no way was she exonerated.

Rather, this story is a reminder of why America’s billionaires and the Trump administration are so invested in securing Collins an undeserved sixth term in the US Senate. Last month, it was revealed that Elon Musk himself was gearing up to purchase her reelection, starting with a $170,000 donation, and now we have a much better idea as to why.

Susan Collins likes to portray herself as a ‘concerned’ moderate willing to meet both sides in the middle, but in reality, she’s never turned away a paycheck — no matter where it comes from or what it asks for in return.

Therefore, America’s greediest billionaires can always count on her to be a key player, while Donald Trump relies on her to be a rubber stamp for the most damaging aspects of his America-last agenda.

Presently serving as the chair of the Senate Committee on Appropriations, Susan Collins has incredible sway over where government funds are spent and to whom contracts are awarded. Needless to say, America can’t afford another six years of unchecked corruption behind the wheel.

As Troy Jackson said, the jig is finally up. This election, Mainers deserve a working-class champion, not another accessory to white-collar crime.

This year, it’s time to send a resounding message to the Epstein class that our politicians and elections aren’t for sale. Not just in Maine, but in every state.

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