US Senator Susan Collins of Maine has dismissed allegations that she traded federal contracts for campaign donations as "completely false." The Republican senator's comments follow reports that the FBI had examined the claims.
Collins, who is campaigning for re-election ahead of November's US midterm elections, stated that the allegations were recycled from 2020 and had been rejected by the Department of Justice, the FBI, and the Federal Election Commission. She added that she was never interviewed because there was no evidence.
The allegations stem from claims made by Martin Kao, the former chief executive of defense contractor Navatek, who is serving 87 months for fraud and campaign finance crimes. ProPublica reported in September that Kao told FBI agents and prosecutors his company secured millions in federal funding by supporting politicians, identifying Collins as his most important patron. Kao claimed he sent $150,000 through a shell company in 2019 after Collins's super PAC head allegedly requested $500,000, and that Collins's office later promised to secure $32m in naval contracts. ProPublica reported that the Senate allocated at least $10m that year based on Navatek’s proposals, funding Collins says she backed at the request of the University of Maine.
Collins denied knowing Kao or Navatek, stating the University of Maine, not Navatek, asked her to back a research grant. She referred to Kao as "a crook" and suggested he "spun this story up again in the hopes that the judge would be lenient, or the prosecutor would be."