In early 2025, the FBI initiated a bribery investigation into defense contractor Navatek after former CEO Martin Kao confessed to trading campaign cash for federal research contracts. Kao alleged that the late Senator Lindsey Graham and Representative James Clyburn requested $100,000 each in campaign donations for contract support. Spokespersons for Graham, Clyburn, and Representative Joe Wilson denied all wrongdoing. The investigation ended after the Trump administration dismantled DOJ anti-corruption units and removed key FBI agents.
FBI investigation into Navatek congressional bribery
- ▪FBI agent Michelle Ball authored a December 9, 2024 memo documenting a history of Navatek making campaign donations in exchange for government contracts
- ▪In early 2025, the FBI initiated a bribery investigation designating former Navatek executives Duke Hartman and Joshua Knight as formal subjects while tracking interactions with lawmakers Lindsey Graham, James Clyburn, and Joe Wilson
Bribery allegations involving Lindsey Graham
- ▪Former Navatek executives Duke Hartman and Joshua Knight co-founded Integer Technologies, which obtained the $10 million naval research contract originally facilitated through Navatek's March 2020 meeting with Senator Lindsey Graham
- ▪Late South Carolina Senator Lindsey Graham required Navatek executives to commit to $40,000 in campaign contributions to secure a 45-minute dinner meeting on March 3, 2020
- ▪Communications director Taylor Reidy stated that any allegations of quid-pro-quo behavior by the late Senator Lindsey Graham or his staff are false and called Martin Kao a convicted felon
- ▪Former Navatek CEO Martin Kao told the FBI that Senator Lindsey Graham offered to steer a $10 million government contract to Navatek in exchange for $100,000 in campaign donations
Bribery allegations involving James Clyburn
- ▪Former Navatek CEO Martin Kao told the FBI that Representative James Clyburn requested $100,000 in campaign contributions during a meeting in exchange for official support
- ▪The FBI recorded $20,000 in campaign contributions made by Martin Kao and his family to Representative James Clyburn shortly after their scheduled meeting in early 2020
- ▪Representative James Clyburn's communications director Jami LaRue denied bribery allegations made by Martin Kao, stating campaign donations never influence Clyburn's support for constituent district requests
Allegations involving Representative Joe Wilson
- ▪Former Navatek CEO Martin Kao told the FBI that Representative Joe Wilson requested campaign contributions in exchange for supporting Navatek's federal funding requests
- ▪Representative Joe Wilson's communications director David Snider stated that Wilson has always complied with Federal Election Commission campaign finance regulations
Trump administration actions on corruption investigations
- ▪Department of Justice spokesperson Audrey Cook stated that under President Trump, the department is rooting out corruption and weaponization of law enforcement from the prior administration
- ▪Department of Justice appointees prohibited the Public Integrity Section from filing new public corruption cases, leading prosecutor Kate Fifield to resign
- ▪President Donald Trump's administration dismantled specialized public corruption units within the FBI and the Department of Justice upon returning to the White House
Navatek business strategy and Kao conviction
- ▪Former Navatek CEO Martin Kao pleaded guilty in 2022 to making illegal campaign donations and loan fraud, receiving an 87-month prison sentence in 2025
- ▪Former Navatek CEO Martin Kao told the FBI that his business model involved bribing public officials in exchange for directing government contracts to his firm
- ▪Navatek expanded its federal funding footprint by opening local offices, partnering with local universities, and requesting congressional earmarks through a strategy Kao called 'the method.'
- ▪Former Navatek CEO Martin Kao stated to federal agents that research Navatek provided to the federal government was frequently worthless
Story comments
Loading comments…