Maine Democrats Press Collins Over Report of Shelved FBI Pay-to-Play Probe

Maine Democrats on Wednesday sharply criticized U.S. Sen. Susan Collins following a news report that the FBI had planned to investigate what she knew about illegal campaign contributions tied to one of her donors.

The report, published Tuesday, says the FBI in 2024 intended to open an investigation into Collins' dealings with Navatek, a Hawaii-based defense contractor that donated to her campaign. The probe, centered on an alleged pay-to-play arrangement, never began after President Donald Trump won the election and took office.

The story surfaced six weeks before the November election, in which Collins is seeking a sixth term against Democrat Troy Jackson. Democrats have made the seat a priority as they push to win control of the Senate, and the race is among the most competitive on the ballot in a state Trump lost in 2024.

Collins on Tuesday called the report "absolutely outrageous" and said it was frustrating and unfair to face such claims so close to the election. Her campaign manager, Steve Abbott, said Wednesday that the suggestion the campaign charged people for meetings is categorically false, and that Collins did not accept campaign cash in exchange for contracts.

Jackson described the allegation as "corruption of the highest order." He was not present Wednesday when a group of Maine Democrats held a news conference near Collins' Portland office, where they called the allegations a betrayal of trust.

"I cannot stress enough here today the seriousness of these allegations. Maine people deserve clear and real answers from Susan Collins right now," said Devon Murphy-Anderson, executive director of the Maine Democratic Party.

The report says the head of a Collins super PAC met with Navatek executives in 2019 and asked for a $500,000 campaign donation. The company's CEO, Martin Kao, sent an initial $150,000 through a shell company, according to the report, which says it reviewed an internal company email in which Kao later told Navatek executives that Collins had committed to securing $32 million in Navy contracts for the company.

Kao and two other Navatek executives were later indicted on charges of funneling illegal donations to Collins. Kao sought to reduce his jail sentence by telling the FBI the full scope of illegal contributions to Collins, the report says.

Collins called Kao "a liar" whose account is untrustworthy, noting he has been convicted twice in separate federal cases, including for money laundering, bank fraud and false submissions to the FEC.

An FBI spokesperson said in a statement that the allegations "had already been investigated by the FBI years ago and ultimately found nothing implicating Senator Collins or Senator Collins' campaign. Any suggestion otherwise is totally false."

The report also says Trump's return to the White House left the Justice Department unable to carry out the investigation. The number of FBI agents and Justice Department prosecutors specializing in corruption cases fell sharply in the first months of the Trump administration. The department dismantled its elite Public Integrity Section in early 2025, while the FBI disbanded a white-collar fraud and public corruption squad based in its Washington field office.

The administration has also fired numerous law enforcement officials who took part in investigations into Trump, including over his efforts to undo the 2020 election and his retention of classified records at his Mar-a-Lago estate in Florida.

An email seeking comment was sent to the Justice Department on Wednesday.

Collins said she first learned of the company through the University of Maine because of research the Navy found valuable, involving 3D printing for production. She said the Justice Department has already reviewed the matter. "I'm telling you this is completely false," she said.

Senate Majority Leader John Thune dismissed the idea that Collins would be implicated in a pay-to-play scheme, calling the allegations "a political hit job."