Abbott says a photo disproves the claim that Kao had to donate before meeting Collins
Steve AbbottCampaign manager for Susan Collins
Collins campaign manager Steve Abbott points to a photo of Collins meeting Kao in her office months before any donation and says it shows that ProPublica's account, that Kao had to donate before he could see Collins, is not true.
“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”
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
WGME report on the Collins campaign's release of 2017 records and a photo of Collins meeting Kao, with a response from Maine Democrats.
Archived copy (opens in a new tab)Before the quotation
The Collins campaign provides public records showing that Collins supported a joint University of Maine and Navatek project at the university's request as early as 2017, and a photo of Collins meeting Kao around a table in her office months before any donation was made. The campaign says the timing shows that meetings and contracts came before any donations.
After the quotation
Maine Democrats respond that the paper trail still points to a pay-to-play scheme and that the Justice Department was still investigating in early 2025. The campaign says it had nothing to do with ending that investigation.
How this statement is classified
The label describes this statement's response within the context above.
Why this label?
The case asks whether Collins traded support for Navatek's federal contracts for campaign donations. Abbott rejects a central part of that account, that Kao had to donate before meeting Collins, so we used the denies label.
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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
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
Emma Vigeland calls the Navatek accusations against Susan Collins well documented
“Here is Susan Collins getting pressed about this story on the Wall Street Journal podcast, and she says she's very offended about these accusations that are well-documented by one of the only outlets doing real journalism in this country anymore, ProPublica.”Read statement
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- Abbott says a photo disproves the claim that Kao had to donate before meeting Collins
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The Dispute Index. "Abbott says a photo disproves the claim that Kao had to donate before meeting Collins". First published: 2026-10-21. Last updated: 2026-10-21. https://disputeindex.com/events/6399-collins-campaign-manager-steve-abbott-points-to-a