A sweeping federal corruption investigation into congressional contracting has collapsed following administrative purges at the Department of Justice and the Federal Bureau of Investigation. The probe centered on allegations that a Hawaiian naval defense contractor traded campaign contributions for millions of dollars in federal research contracts, implicating several prominent lawmakers from both major political parties.
At the heart of the dormant investigation were admissions from Martin Kao, the former CEO of the naval defense contractor Navatek. Kao confessed to federal agents that his business model relied on securing government funding by making campaign cash-for-contract deals with influential members of Congress. According to Kao, the arrangement involved South Carolina Senator Lindsey Graham, Representative James Clyburn, and Representative Joe Wilson.
The inquiry began in early 2025, building upon records seized from Navatek and an initial investigation into campaign donations tied to Maine Senator Susan Collins. Kao pleaded guilty in 2022 to making illegal campaign donations and orchestrating a loan fraud scheme, ultimately receiving an 87-month prison sentence in 2025. Hoping to reduce his sentence, Kao detailed to anti-corruption investigators how the company operated.
According to records and interviews, Navatek used a method of opening offices in the home states of powerful lawmakers, partnering with local universities to draft research proposals, and then lobbying for budget line items tailored to the company’s capabilities. Kao told federal agents that lawmakers or their staffs would explicitly request campaign contributions in exchange for inserting funding into defense appropriations bills.
On March 3, 2020, Graham met with Kao, a lobbyist, and Navatek executives at a Washington steakhouse. Kao told investigators that Graham demanded $100,000 in campaign donations in exchange for steering a $10 million government contract to a partnership between Navatek and the University of South Carolina. An eyewitness confirmed the meeting took place and noted that a campaign fundraiser collected envelopes containing checks from Kao before Graham arrived.
Internal company spreadsheets and emails reviewed by investigators showed that Graham’s office had worked behind the scenes to direct a $9.5 million power and energy research contract to Navatek. A former company executive claimed that Navatek initially lacked the personnel and technical capability to perform the research, describing the work as resembling a college senior’s project.
Similar arrangements were allegedly made with Clyburn and Wilson. Kao stated that Clyburn asked for $100,000 in campaign contributions after meeting to discuss aligning the House defense budget with the Senate version. Federal agents identified $20,000 in donations made by Kao and his family members to Clyburn following their meeting, alongside a $10,000 gift arranged for South Carolina State University, Clyburn’s alma mater. Kao reported a similar quid-pro-quo understanding with Wilson, whose campaign received donations from Kao and lobbyists after meetings on Capitol Hill.
Representatives for the lawmakers denied any wrongdoing. A spokesperson for Graham’s office rejected the notion that the late senator was motivated by campaign cash, stating that fundraising minimums for dinners were standard practice and that the office never engaged in quid-pro-quo behavior. Communications representatives for Clyburn and Wilson defended their legislative support for local universities, emphasized compliance with federal campaign finance regulations, and dismissed allegations from an imprisoned fraudster.
Despite the denials, FBI anti-corruption agents gathered enough evidence to formally name two former Navatek executives, Duke Hartman and Joshua Knight, as subjects of a bribery investigation in late 2024. Investigators were actively examining the conduct of Graham, Clyburn, and Wilson with the expectation that the lawmakers could become formal subjects as the probe expanded.
That momentum vanished following the return of Donald Trump to the White House. The new administration ordered the DOJ’s Public Integrity Section to halt the filing of new corruption cases, prompting a wave of resignations among career prosecutors. Simultaneously, leadership at the FBI field office in Washington purged agents who had previously participated in investigations involving Trump. Special agents Michelle Ball and Kevin Gounaud, who led the Navatek corruption probe, were terminated or pushed out by late 2025 and early 2026.
While the federal investigation has ended without criminal charges against the lawmakers or Hartman, the business fallout continues to evolve. After Kao’s arrest in September 2020, Hartman and Knight founded a new South Carolina-based military research firm called Integer Technologies. The new company secured the research contracts originally brokered by Navatek and has rapidly expanded its operations, reporting millions in government contracts and establishing partnerships with universities nationwide.
