FBI Halted Bribery Probe Into Graham, Clyburn After Trump's Return

The FBI investigated whether South Carolina Senator Lindsey Graham and Representative James Clyburn were involved in a bribery scheme connected to Hawaiian naval defense contractor Navatek acquiring federal contracts, according to reporting by ProPublica published on October 20, 2026. The investigation, launched in early 2025, centered on allegations that Navatek CEO Martin Kao exchanged campaign donations and gifts for millions of dollars in government contracts. Graham allegedly met with Navatek executives in March 2020 at Charlie Palmer Steakhouse in Washington, D.C., where he reportedly agreed to direct a $10 million government contract to Navatek in exchange for $100,000 in campaign donations. Clyburn and Republican Representative Joe Wilson were also investigated for similar alleged arrangements with Kao.

Kao confessed to FBI agents in late 2024 that his "business model consisted of bribing public officials in exchange for government contracts" and that Navatek's federal research was "often worthless," according to FBI documents reviewed by ProPublica. The agents investigating the case indicated that Graham, Clyburn, and Wilson could become formal subjects of investigation in the future. FBI records named two former Navatek executives as subjects in the bribery investigation.

However, the investigation was effectively halted after President Trump returned to office in 2025. According to ProPublica and reporting from multiple outlets, Trump's administration disbanded FBI and Justice Department teams investigating public corruption, including the two agents working on the Navatek bribery case. The case is now described as "effectively dead" with no remaining investigators at the agency assigned to it.

Kao, who was arrested for campaign finance violations in September 2020 and pleaded guilty in 2022 to illegal campaign donations and loan fraud, was sentenced to 87 months in prison in 2025. He spoke with the FBI hoping to reduce his sentence and stated from federal detention that the scheme represented "corruption at its best," adding that he was "the only one rotting in prison." Representatives for Graham and Clyburn denied the quid pro quo allegations. Graham's office stated that Navatek's funding request was added to the budget at the request of both the contractor and the University of South Carolina, with the research supported by the Navy. Graham's spokesperson noted that the senator had rejected the donations in question.