FBI examined Senator Graham’s and Congressman Clyburn’s contacts with Navatek — The Hill
The FBI examined the contacts of the late South Carolina Senator Lindsey Graham and Congressman James Clyburn with the Hawaii-based defense contractor Navatek as part of a case involving the alleged bribery of officials to obtain federal contracts. At the same time, Graham, Clyburn and Congressman Joe Wilson were not subjects of the investigation, although agents did not rule out that they could become such subjects in the future.
Alleged arrangements
As The Hill reports, citing a ProPublica investigation, Navatek CEO Martin Kao told the FBI that in March 2020, Graham allegedly agreed to help the company obtain a $10 million government contract in South Carolina. According to Kao, in exchange the senator allegedly asked him to promise $100,000 for his reelection campaign.
ProPublica also wrote that after contacting lawmakers’ offices in early 2019, Navatek allegedly made similar arrangements with Clyburn and Wilson. Together with the University of South Carolina, the company asked lawmakers to fund a joint $9.5 million research project. The relevant provision was included in the final appropriations bill passed in December 2019.
More current news is available on the UA.News Telegram channel Telegram.
CEO’s testimony and reactions
The FBI investigation began in early 2025. Kao, who pleaded guilty in 2022 to illegal campaign contributions and loan fraud, was sentenced to 87 months in prison. According to ProPublica, he told agents that Navatek’s business model involved bribing officials in exchange for government contracts, and that research the company provided to the federal government often had no value.
Graham’s former communications director, Taylor Reidy, called claims about favors in exchange for political donations false and said the FBI had not contacted the late senator’s office. Clyburn spokeswoman Jami LaRue said donations would not influence the congressman’s support for donors’ requests. Wilson representative David Snyder said the lawmaker had always complied with Federal Election Commission rules on donations.
According to the outlet, after President Donald Trump returned to the White House, many FBI and Justice Department teams investigating corruption among officials were disbanded. They included two agents working on this case, so, in The Hill’s assessment, it effectively came to a halt.
