US Senator Susan Collins is publicly dismissing allegations that she traded federal contracts for campaign contributions as “completely false,” as reported by The Guardian. These claims have resurfaced recently, four years after they first appeared, leading to a new ethics complaint filed by a Maine attorney.
Collins, who is currently campaigning to retain her seat before the November midterm elections, says the accusations are recycled from 2020. She maintains that the Department of Justice, the FBI, and the Federal Election Commission have already rejected these claims.
The controversy centers on Martin Kao, the former CEO of the defense contractor Navatek. Kao is currently serving an 87-month prison sentence for fraud and campaign finance crimes. According to reports, Kao told FBI agents and prosecutors that his company secured millions in federal funding by bankrolling politicians, specifically identifying Collins as his most important patron.
Kao alleged that the head of Collins’s Super PAC, Scott Reed, asked him for $500,000 in 2019
Kao claimed he subsequently sent $150,000 through a shell company, and that the office of Collins later promised to secure $32 million in naval contracts. While the Senate did allocate at least $10 million that year based on proposals from Navatek, Collins insists she only backed the research grant because the University of Maine requested it. She stated that she had never even heard of Navatek at the time. Regarding Kao, Collins said he was a crook whom neither she nor the university knew about.
“The allegations are completely false,” Collins said. “We have a picture of his meeting with me and with other people in my office that is many months before he ever made a single contribution. He spun this story up again in the hopes that the judge would be lenient, or the prosecutor would be.”
Evidence cited in reports includes emails, such as one where Scott Reed allegedly replied “Very smart” to the shell company plan proposed by Kao. Another email reportedly asked for the phone number of Kao so that Collins could thank him. Reed has denied discussing Kao or Navatek with Collins or her staff. Despite these records, no one associated with Collins has faced charges.
When asked why she would not welcome an ethics inquiry to clear her name, Collins said it was not up to her. She dismissed the current complaint as the work of partisan Democrats and Valerie Adams, a lawyer who lost her own election in the June primary for district attorney. “I was never even interviewed because there was no evidence for it,” Collins said.
Reports indicate that FBI agents attempted to open a broader bribery investigation into the matter in 2024. However, that effort reportedly collapsed after President Donald Trump returned to office and purged the public corruption teams within the bureau.
Although the full $32 million in contracts was not awarded, the connection between the campaign contributions and the legislative support remains a point of contention. For now, Collins maintains that the entire narrative is a fabrication designed to influence the political landscape as the midterm elections approach.
Published: Oct 16, 2026 09:45 am