ProPublica: FBI opened a Capitol Hill bribery case against Graham, Clyburn and Wilson, then Kash Patel's purge shut it down

An investigative report published Tuesday by ProPublica has revealed that the FBI opened a sweeping bribery case against some of Capitol Hill's most powerful figures in early 2025, only to watch the probe collapse after FBI Director Kash Patel dismantled the anti-corruption unit that was running it.

The FBI investigated whether South Carolina's late Sen. Lindsey Graham (R) and Rep. James Clyburn (D) were involved in a bribery scheme in connection with Hawaiian naval defense contractor Navatek acquiring federal contracts in their home state, according to ProPublica. In South Carolina, Navatek CEO Martin Kao told federal agents the company made a campaign cash-for-contracts deal not only with Graham, but also with Clyburn and Republican Rep. Joe Wilson.

The contractor at the center of it is not a household name. Navatek is a Honolulu-based naval research firm. But its alleged reach into South Carolina, and across party lines, gives this story a dimension that goes well beyond a typical defense-procurement scandal.

What Kao told the FBI

The FBI in early 2025 launched its investigation into alleged bribery in Congress, with Graham's meeting with Navatek executives and a lobbyist at the center. Agents interviewed Kao, who admitted his "business model consisted of bribing public officials in exchange for government contracts" and that Navatek's research given to the federal government "was often worthless."

The trail leads back to March 3, 2020, when Graham walked into a private dining room at Charlie Palmer Steak in Washington. He was meeting with two Navatek executives and a lobbyist. Graham ate little and talked a lot, ProPublica reported. But Kao got what he was after: Graham agreed to steer a $10 million government contract Navatek's way in South Carolina, Kao later recounted to the FBI.

The details Kao divulged to the FBI also state that Graham asked him to pledge a total of $100,000 to his reelection campaign. According to ProPublica, Graham allegedly told Kao: "This is how much I want, and how much I am going to give you."

Graham died before federal agents could move on the information. Clyburn and Wilson are both alive and both deny wrongdoing. Graham, Clyburn and Wilson were not formal subjects in the investigation, though the FBI investigated their interactions with Kao and agents said the lawmakers could become subjects in the future, according to records ProPublica reviewed.

Navatek also recruited the University of South Carolina for a joint research project and asked the lawmakers to fund $9.5 million toward the work, aiming to get Congress to re-up the funding for two more years and approve two additional projects totaling $90 million.

How the case died

The investigation never got subpoenas. It never got to charges. It got the purge instead.

FBI Director Kash Patel began to purge the anti-corruption unit in the Washington, D.C. field office, where many agents had investigated Trump. The lead agent on the Navatek case was fired in October 2025. A second agent who had been working on the investigation with her was pushed out in early 2026.

Trump's return to the White House led to many FBI and Justice Department teams investigating public corruption being disbanded, including the two agents investigating the bribery scheme. The case is effectively dead with none of its investigators left at the agency.

ProPublica says it unearthed the investigation by reviewing thousands of pages of legal documents, internal company emails, evidence the FBI used to vet Kao's claims, and dozens of interviews with people who saw how Navatek operated, including an eyewitness to Graham and Kao's secret steakhouse dinner.

The White House referred ProPublica's questions to the FBI and the Department of Justice. The Department of Justice did not respond to detailed questions about the investigation.

This is the second part of ProPublica's investigation into the Navatek affair. Part one covered Maine Republican Sen. Susan Collins, who also allegedly received hundreds of thousands of dollars from Navatek in exchange for tens of millions of dollars in federal defense contracts.

Why it lands now

The timing is pointed. The midterms are 13 days away. Clyburn, one of the most recognizable figures in House Democratic politics, is still a sitting member of Congress. Wilson sits on the House Armed Services Committee. And the FBI purge at the center of the story is not an abstraction: two named agents lost their jobs.

The report also lands the same day the administration rolled out its own anti-fraud program. The Justice Department announced the Fraud Whistleblower Incentive Program, or WHIP, describing it as "the first ever whistleblower rewards program that pays an up-front award for tips leading to criminal charges." Under WHIP, anyone who submits a tip to fraud.gov that leads to a fraud conviction or a significant federal enforcement action is eligible to receive up to $30,000, with the Justice Department administering the program.

Critics point to the president's dismissal of inspectors general and pardons of people convicted of fraud as they challenge the credibility of the new program. The simultaneous killing of a bipartisan congressional bribery probe and the launch of a public fraud-tipster reward program gave that criticism immediate texture Tuesday.

On the separate immigration front, the day brought its own headline from the State Department. The Trump administration has revoked over 300,000 U.S. visas during Trump's second term, the State Department said on Tuesday as the federal government continues its sweeping immigration crackdown. In an update issued August 10, the department had said that more than 175,000 visas had been revoked since the start of Trump's current term, meaning roughly 125,000 additional revocations occurred in just over two months. State Department spokesman Tommy Pigott said on X that the Trump administration had "revoked more visas at a faster pace than any administration in history." The State Department also said more than 4,000 visa revocations involved foreigners participating in or facilitating "birth tourism" in the U.S. Rights advocates say the crackdown has violated due process and free speech rights and has created an unsafe environment, particularly for ethnic minorities, who have raised concerns about racial profiling.

What to Watch

• Congressional response to ProPublica. Watch whether any House or Senate members call for a special counsel or inspector general review of the Navatek case shutdown. Clyburn and Wilson have not yet given detailed public responses to the specific claims in ProPublica's reporting.
• DOJ and FBI non-response. The Justice Department did not answer ProPublica's detailed questions. Whether Attorney General Todd Blanche addresses the case at all, or whether the Senate Judiciary Committee presses for documents, will shape how far this story travels before November 3.
• WHIP rollout and legal scrutiny. Under the Justice Department's official rules, WHIP awards are discretionary, despite Trump's broader promises. The program anticipates awards of $10,000 to $30,000 for qualifying tips that lead to criminal charges in specified areas of fraud. Legal observers will watch whether the program's structure, and Trump's stated role as the "sole arbitrator" of payouts, invites legal challenge.
• Visa revocations and courts. As the total revocation count surpasses 300,000, any pending federal court challenges to the State Department's Continuous Vetting Center or its social media screening procedures could produce a ruling before the midterms.
• Nick Shirley and the first WHIP check. Vice President Vance gave YouTube commentator Nick Shirley a $10,000 check, the first payment from the new program, during Tuesday's Oval Office event. The White House's decision to make a political influencer the face of the fraud program's debut will draw continued scrutiny from watchdog groups.

Sources: ProPublica | The Hill | Department of Justice (press release) | The Washington Post | AP via NBC New York | Reuters via Hawaii Tribune-Herald