Maine Dems Hammer Collins over Report of Pay-to-Play Probe. GOP Senator Calls It ‘Completely False’
ProPublica says Martin Kao funneled donations to a pro-Collins super PAC and Navatek later received tens of millions of dollars in contracts.
- On Tuesday, ProPublica published a report alleging Republican Senator Susan Collins engaged in a "pay-to-play" scheme with defense contractor Martin Kao, who allegedly funneled campaign contributions in exchange for federal contracts.
- Kao alleged he sent $150,000 to a Collins-aligned super PAC through a shell company and later received $32 million in naval contracts, leveraging Collins' position on the Senate Appropriations Committee to steer federal funding to his company.
- Federal investigators probed Collins' campaign finances between 2020 and 2025, but the inquiry stalled after President Donald Trump returned to office in 2025 when the administration dismantled anti-corruption units assigned to the case.
- Annie Clark, Collins' deputy chief of staff, called the allegations "categorically false" and stated the campaign was never an FBI target; an FBI spokesperson told ProPublica the bureau found no evidence implicating the senator.
- With the election six weeks away, Democratic challenger Troy Jackson called the allegations "corruption of the highest order," while strategists warn the report could undermine Collins' reputation as an independent voice in the tightly contested Maine race.
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62 Articles
Pioneer Press
Maine Dems hammer Collins over report of pay-to-play probe. GOP senator calls it ‘completely false’
Maine Democrats are calling for Republican Sen. Susan Collins to account for a report that alleged she was the target of a federal investigation over campaign contributions. Collins calls the claims “totally false” and politically motivated.
Maine Dems hammer Collins over report of pay-to-play probe. The GOP se
PORTLAND, Maine (AP) — Maine Democrats on Wednesday assailed U.S. Sen. Susan Collins over a news report that the FBI investigated how much she knew about illegal campaign contributions that sent one of her donors to prison.
Maine Dems hammer Collins over report of pay-to-play probe. The GOP senator calls it ‘totally false’ – WTOP News
PORTLAND, Maine (AP) — Maine Democrats on Wednesday assailed U.S. Sen. Susan Collins over a news report that the FBI investigated how much she knew about illegal campaign contributions that sent one of her donors to prison. The ProPublica report, published Tuesday, states that the FBI in 2024 planned to launch an investigation into Collins’...
Maine Dems hammer Collins over report of pay-to-play probe. GOP senator calls it 'completely false'
Maine Democrats are calling for Republican Sen. Susan Collins to account for a report that alleged she was the target of a federal investigation over campaign contributions.
Maine Democrats criticize Susan Collins over reported allegations of pay-to-play scheme
By Michael Williams, Katherine Koretski, Arlette Saenz, CNN (CNN) — Maine Democrats are demanding that Republican Sen. Susan Collins answer for a report that her office committed to steering millions of dollars in federal contracts to a Hawaii-based defense contractor in exchange for donations to her 2020 campaign. “This is an incredibly serious allegation that
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