FBI Disbanded Probe Into Graham and Clyburn Bribery Allegations

A federal investigation into alleged bribery involving South Carolina lawmakers Lindsey Graham and James Clyburn stalled after President Donald Trump returned to office in 2025 and the FBI dismissed personnel working on public corruption cases, according to a ProPublica investigation published October 20, 2026. The inquiry examined whether lawmakers received campaign contributions and gifts from Navatek executives in exchange for helping the Hawaii-based defense contractor secure government contracts.

The investigation centered on Martin Kao, Navatek's chief executive, who told federal agents that political contributions were linked to efforts to obtain millions of dollars in government business. ProPublica reviewed investigative records, including agents' notes and documents seized from the company, that supported parts of Kao's account. The allegations against the lawmakers have not been established in court.

According to ProPublica, Kao told investigators that Graham agreed to steer a $10 million government contract to Navatek in exchange for a $100,000 campaign contribution. The alleged arrangement followed a 45-minute meeting in March 2020 at Charlie Palmer Steak in Washington, D.C., which Kao said had been secured through a $40,000 campaign contribution.

Kao recalled Graham describing the arrangement in explicit terms.

"This is how much I want, and how much I am going to give you," Kao recalled Graham saying, according to notes from an FBI interview in late 2024.

ProPublica reported that investigators identified two former Navatek executives as subjects of a bribery investigation. Although Graham, Clyburn and fellow South Carolina Republican Representative Joe Wilson were not formally designated as subjects, agents were examining their dealings with Kao and told superiors the inquiry could eventually extend to the lawmakers.

Clyburn, a senior Democratic member of the House, allegedly sought a contribution matching Graham's $100,000 after meeting with Kao, according to the investigation. Kao also alleged that Wilson sought campaign contributions in return for supporting the company's interests. Investigators examined whether Navatek influenced congressional budget language, finding a paragraph in a Senate Appropriations Committee report that closely resembled material in the company's earlier internal spreadsheets.

Records reviewed by ProPublica also showed that Navatek spent $4,799 sending bourbon to lawmakers after the Senate advanced its budget proposal in 2019 and $102 on a fruit basket for Clyburn. The bourbon deliveries potentially violated Senate gift rules, according to the report.

The investigation lost its investigative team after Trump returned to the White House in 2025, ProPublica reported. The changes dismantled specialized FBI and Justice Department teams responsible for public corruption investigations, leaving the allegations against the lawmakers without further investigative action from the original team.

Kao was arrested in September 2020 over campaign finance violations and was sentenced in 2025 to 87 months in prison on fraud charges, according to Mediaite. His statements to investigators were made while he faced potential imprisonment and sought a reduced sentence, a circumstance that could affect the assessment of his credibility.

Representatives for Graham and Clyburn denied wrongdoing. Graham died in July 2026 at age 71, according to Mediaite. His spokeswoman, Taylor Reidy, rejected the allegations and criticized the reliance on Kao's statements.

"Any allegations of quid-pro-quo behavior or wrongdoing by the late Senator Lindsey Graham or his staff are simply false," Reidy told ProPublica.

Reidy also said the FBI had never contacted Graham's office about the allegations and that Graham later rejected the donations in question. She argued that Kao's criminal record undermined his credibility and criticized the timing of the investigation's publication following Graham's death.

Clyburn's office also rejected the suggestion that donations influenced his decisions. His communications director, Jami LaRue, said the congressman supported educational institutions in his district independently of any donor's interests.

"Whatever a donor may think or say, a donation would never cause Congressman Clyburn to increase his support for the donor's request," a Clyburn representative told ProPublica.

LaRue added that the congressman would continue supporting colleges and universities in his district despite Kao's allegations. Wilson's communications director, David Snider, separately denied improper conduct and said the representative had complied with campaign finance regulations.

"Congressman Wilson does and has always abided by campaign donation regulations set forth by the Federal Election Commission," Snider told ProPublica.

The case follows ProPublica's earlier reporting on Maine Republican Senator Susan Collins, whose political action committee received $150,000 from Kao after a meeting in Washington in 2019. Two months later, Kao informed Navatek that Collins had committed to directing $32 million in naval contracts to the company, according to the outlet. Collins has denied wrongdoing.