Susan Collins denies Navatek pay-to-play allegations, calls report a political hit job
Susan CollinsU.S. Senator for Maine, the senator whose conduct is at issue
Collins personally denies the pay-to-play allegations, citing a 2021 Biden Justice Department finding of no wrongdoing by her, her office, or her campaign, and calls the ProPublica report a political hit job driven by Democratic tactics; she also calls Kao a liar with multiple federal convictions.
“In 2021, the Biden Justice Department found there was no wrongdoing by anyone on my campaign staff, my office or me. This is absolutely outrageous. It's clearly a political hit job.”
Reporting
Where this statement fits
Did Susan Collins Trade Federal Contract Support for Navatek Campaign Donations?
Former Navatek chief executive Martin Kao told FBI agents that Susan Collins and people around her knowingly participated in an arrangement connecting campaign support to federal-contract assistance. Collins's office, an FBI spokesperson and several participants dispute that account. Criminal proceedings and an FEC settlement established illegal contributions by Navatek-linked actors, but no public charge or court finding establishes that Collins knowingly joined a quid pro quo.
Source and context
Reporting
About this source
Punchbowl News reporting on Sen. Susan Collins on-the-record remarks to reporters just off the Senate floor responding to the ProPublica investigation, including her denial of wrongdoing, her characterization of the story as a political hit job tied to Schumer/Democratic tactics, and her description of Martin Kao as a liar with multiple federal convictions.
Before the quotation
Hours after ProPublica published its investigation into whether Collins traded federal contract support for Navatek campaign donations, and after her deputy chief of staff Annie Clark issued a written denial, Collins spoke directly to reporters just off the Senate floor about the allegations.
After the quotation
Collins also blamed the timing and framing of the story on Senate Minority Leader Chuck Schumer and Democratic tactics, and separately called Martin Kao a liar who has been twice convicted in separate federal court cases, including for money laundering.
How this statement is classified
The label describes this statement's response within the context above.
Why this label?
On whether she traded federal contract support for Navatek campaign donations, Collins says the Biden Justice Department already investigated and found no wrongdoing by her, her staff, or her campaign. That is a direct denial that the alleged conduct occurred, not merely a dispute over how the story is framed.
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More from this case
Read the full caseCollins calls the Navatek allegations completely false
“The allegations are completely false ... 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.”Read statement
Abbott says a photo disproves the claim that Kao had to donate before meeting Collins
“ProPublica has the theory that Martin Kao, based on Martin Kao's word, had to make a donation before he could get in to see Susan Collins. As you can see from that picture, it's not true”Read statement
Collins campaign says it has no record of Collins calling Kao to thank him
“Neither Susan Collins nor anyone who worked for her believes that she made a call”Read statement
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- Susan Collins denies Navatek pay-to-play allegations, calls report a political hit job
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The Dispute Index. "Susan Collins denies Navatek pay-to-play allegations, calls report a political hit job". First published: 2026-09-24. Last updated: 2026-09-24. https://disputeindex.com/events/1548-collins-personally-denies-the-pay-to-play-allegations