California Rep. Ro Khanna said on X that Sen. Susan Collins of Maine had been under FBI investigation for alleged bribery and that President Donald Trump “covered it up,” urging voters to back Democrat Troy Jackson. The post, tied to a new ProPublica report on a dropped probe, quickly drew replies demanding proof and citing an FBI statement that it found nothing implicating Collins. The exchange has fueled debate over the Maine Senate race.
The video shows Khanna speaking to camera in a suit, saying “a bombshell report” found that “Susan Collins was being investigated.” He then says, “Then Donald Trump gets elected, and he gets rid of the FBI agents who were investigating Susan Collins.” In the clip, he adds that Collins presents herself “to be a moderate Republican,” but “when it comes to corruption she acts just like a MAGA Republican.”
He closes by saying, “that’s why we need Troy Jackson to win” and “we need to clean house and stand up to corruption.” The footage does not show documents, investigators, or Collins, and it does not independently establish what the FBI concluded.
The remarks follow a ProPublica report that FBI agents had sought a broader pay-to-play inquiry involving defense contractor Martin Kao and lawmakers, including Collins, before the probe stalled in 2025. The New York Times later reported the inquiry was closed after senior officials questioned Kao’s account.
Responses to Khanna’s Claims About the Collins Probe
Some treated the clip as evidence of a cover-up. Jackson said, “This is corruption of the highest order. Susan Collins delivered millions in taxpayer dollars for a corrupt donor bankrolling her campaign, and then Donald Trump helped her cover it up.”
Collins’ office and the FBI rejected that reading. Clark said, “The seven-year-old allegations made against Senator Collins and her staff in this piece are categorically false.”
An FBI spokesperson said the bureau “ultimately found nothing implicating Senator Collins or Senator Collins’ campaign. Any suggestion otherwise is totally false.”
Others asked Khanna for evidence. One wrote, “Show proof of this. You may be the greatest storyteller in DC besides @SenAdamSchiff.” Another asked, “But where’s your evidence that Trump personally covered up bribery by Susan Collins? And why did you leave the Democrats in the proposed investigation out of your post?”
A separate group focused on Collins’ record. One commenter wrote, “She’s a MAGA Republican. She is so far away from that. All you have to do is look at her voting record. Democrats should be thanking her.”
For now, the competing accounts remain unresolved. The issue has also become part of the Maine Senate race, with Collins and Jackson offering sharply different interpretations of what the FBI investigation did — and did not — uncover.
