Susan Collins Denies Probe Report
The GOP senator rejected a ProPublica report on an ended FBI pay-to-play probe.
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Articles
9
Sources
Coverage mix
What happened
Sen. Susan Collins denied ProPublica’s report that the FBI investigated whether she was tied to an alleged pay-to-play scheme involving Navatek campaign donations and defense contracts. ProPublica said indicted Navatek CEO Martin Kao later cooperated with investigators, which helped broaden the inquiry. The report landed during Collins’s competitive Maine reelection race, about six weeks before Election Day, with Senate control at stake. Collins called the story “absolutely outrageous” and a “political hit job.” Her campaign and FBI spokesperson Ben Williamson said the matter was investigated years ago and resolved in 2021. Maine Democrats demanded answers. The unresolved issue is whether a 2024 FBI inquiry existed and was later shut down.
Both sides
From the left
Left-leaning accounts treated the allegations as either a major public-corruption case or a warning about weakened enforcement under Trump. Democracy Now! framed Collins as steering military money to Navatek. Techdirt cast the inquiry’s collapse as tied to Trump’s return. Raw Story highlighted Collins calling it a partisan hit job, while MEDIAite doubted ProPublica’s substance.
From the right
Only one right-leaning outlet we track covered this: FOX News, under the headline “Susan Collins tears into bribery allegations as new claims emerge during critical Senate battle”.
Coverage•9 articles — 6 left, 2 center, 1 right
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