A new report has put a sitting U.S. senator at the center of a defense-contracting scandal, right in the middle of a tight reelection fight.
On September 22, 2026, ProPublica published a story examining allegations from Martin Kao, the former CEO of naval technology manufacturer Navatek. Kao has claimed he paid lawmakers in exchange for steering defense contracts to his company. The report states the FBI has examined these allegations.
Out of everyone named in connection with the alleged scheme, ProPublica identified one lawmaker as the most significant: Senator Susan Collins, R-Maine, according to the same report.
What the Allegation Actually Says
Collins sits on the Senate Appropriations Committee, a panel with real influence over how defense dollars get distributed to contractors. That process is supposed to run on merit and military readiness, not politics.
The allegation, as reported by ProPublica, is that Collins did not approach Kao directly. Instead, she allegedly worked through a lobbyist, Glen Mandigo. The claim is that Mandigo, acting on Collins’ behalf, asked Kao to host a fundraiser and bundle campaign donations for her reelection effort.
Bundling is a common political fundraising practice. It means organizing multiple donors and multiple checks and funneling them toward one campaign through a single point of contact. It can turn one relationship into a large amount of money quickly.
The Denial
Mandigo has pushed back. According to the report, he denies ever telling Navatek officials that Collins’ support was contingent on financial backing.
Editorial note: that denial is narrow. Mandigo is not disputing that a fundraiser was requested. He is disputing that support was explicitly tied to the money. Whether that distinction matters legally is a question for investigators and, if it ever gets there, a court. It is not a question this article can answer.
Collins herself has denied the allegations forcefully. On September 23, 2026, she called the report “a political hit job” and “absolutely outrageous,” and said, “I’m telling you that this is completely false.” She said the Justice Department under President Biden found no wrongdoing by her, her campaign or her office, and that Navatek won its Navy contracts on the merits. Her Democratic opponent, Troy Jackson, called the report “corruption of the highest order.” ABC News, September 23, 2026.
The FBI Response and the Two Investigations
An FBI spokesperson told ProPublica that an earlier investigation found nothing implicating Collins or her campaign. Collins’ office denies wrongdoing. That response is essential context; allegations are not proof.
ProPublica distinguishes that earlier investigation from later scrutiny involving information Kao supplied from 2022 through 2024. The outlet reports that the later inquiry ended after changes to the FBI and Justice Department in 2025. The competing accounts do not establish a criminal finding against Collins.
ProPublica then published a follow-up disputing parts of Collins’ response. It reported that while the original Kao investigation began in 2021, the allegations it covered involved conduct from 2022 to 2024, that Kao gave FBI interviews as recently as September 2024, and that FBI documents from December 2024 stated that “several emails and other documents corroborate Kao’s statements made to the FBI.” ProPublica follow-up. Collins has not been charged with any crime. Kao is a convicted felon whose credibility her office disputes. Both of those facts matter, and readers should hold them together.
Where Things Stand
As of the ProPublica report, no criminal charges have been filed against Senator Collins. There is no indictment, no trial, and no conviction. What exists is an allegation from a former defense contractor CEO, reporting about later FBI scrutiny, the FBI’s statement about an earlier investigation, and denials from Collins’ office and the lobbyist named in the reporting.
The story has landed in the middle of what the report describes as a razor-thin 2026 Senate race in Maine. Voters there are being asked to weigh this information before any legal process has run its course.
Editorial note: that is simply how the timeline has unfolded here. An allegation surfaced publicly before any charges were filed, in the middle of an active campaign. That sequence is part of the story, not a judgment about guilt.
Weigh In
This is what’s on the public record right now: allegations, disputed accounts of FBI scrutiny, and explicit denials. No charges. No conviction. The rest is still unfolding.
Read the record for yourself, then head to themoraldecayindex.com and leave your own verdict in the comments.
Photo: United States Capitol, west front, by Architect of the Capitol, Public domain, via Wikimedia Commons.