PORTLAND — Republican Sen. Susan Collins’ longtime chief of staff on Wednesday rebutted claims made in a ProPublica article that her office was involved in a pay for play scheme involving a defense contractor.
“It’s false and they are allegations from a guy who was awaiting sentencing for a significant federal offense who was trying to get his sentence reduced,” Steve Abbott told reporters in Portland.
On Tuesday, ProPublica reported that a former Navatek CEO named Martin Kao told federal investigators that he contributed money to Collins’ 2020 reelection campaign and was assured that his company would receive a large federal contract in return.
The news service found a 50-page document from Kao alleging wrongdoing by Collins and others while examining the impacts of President Donald Trump’s purge of staffers from the FBI and Department of Justice when he returned power after his 2024 reelection.
On Wednesday, the Maine Democratic Party called on Collins to directly answer questions raised by the story. Devon Murphy-Anderson, executive director of the party, said Mainers should know how Collins uses her power as chairwoman of the Senate Appropriations Committee.
“That power also comes with an enormous responsibility to the people of Maine, us,” she said. “When reporting like this raises questions about the relationship between campaign money and the use of Susan Collins’ power, Mainers deserve transparency and we deserve accountability.”
Collins is seeking a sixth term to the Senate and faces a challenge from former Maine Senate President Troy Jackson, a Democrat.
Abbott said the allegations of corruption are part of an old playbook and that similar questions arose six years ago when she was up for reelection.
“It’s so tiresome, it’s the same thing, over and over and over again,” he said. “It’s their effort to discredit the work she does on behalf of the people of Maine.”
Collins’ major campaign theme is that she’s brought $1.5 billion back to Maine over the last five years because of her post as chairwoman of the Appropriations Committee.
Abbott also disputed several parts of the ProPublica story, saying his staff has found no evidence that Collins’ called Kao to thank him for a donation.
He said she did not say in a meeting that she always delivers, a remark that implied that she was aware of a pay for play scheme.
In its story, ProPublica acknowledged that Kao had credibility problems, but noted that the FBI took his allegations seriously enough to consider opening a new investigation. That ended when Trump fired many of those who had investigated him in the past.
Prior to that, under the Biden Administration, the FBI and DOJ investigated Kao and the contributions he made to the Collins campaign.
Abbott said they “both investigated those contributions and the claims against Sen. Collins, her campaign and her federal staff thoroughly and found no basis to charge them. To the contrary, the Collins staff and Sen. Collins were never the subject of the investigation.”
Kao is currently in prison after pleading guilty to several charges including money laundering and bank fraud. In the Collins’ case, the charges stemmed from his attempts to set up a shell company to get around campaign contribution limits.
Abbott also rebutted claims in the story that funds directed to Navatek — some of which went to the University of Maine — supported projects that carried no real value. He held up posters showing two 3D printed boats, saying that the technology will be combined with the work of others across the country to advance boatbuilding.
At their press conference, Democrats continued to try to tie Collins directly to Trump, again pointing out her support for many of his anti-abortion judges and cabinet members.
“Trump’s changes to the FBI and the DOJ took the heat off of Senator Collins and her orbit just as agents were seeking permission to look into the allegations outlined in this scheme,” said Dr. Nirav Shah, a Democrat and former head of the Maine Center for Disease Control and Prevention.
Abbott worked to distance Collins from Trump, pointing out that she voted to remove him from office after the Jan. 6, 2021, insurrection, opposed FBI Director Kash Patel’s nomination and said publicly she did not support his 2024 reelection bid.
He took aim at Jackson for saying on Tuesday that Trump cleaned house at the FBI and DOJ to help Collins.
“That of course is absurd,” he said.