Trump Administration Purge Ends South Carolina Bribery Probe
President Donald Trump ordered a purge of FBI and DOJ anti-corruption units, effectively ending a federal bribery investigation into several South Carolina lawmakers.
A federal bribery investigation into several South Carolina lawmakers has ended following a purge of anti-corruption units within the FBI and Department of Justice ordered by Donald Trump. The probe focused on allegations from Martin Kao, the former CEO of naval contractor Navatek, who claimed he bribed public officials to secure government contracts.
Kao alleged that the late Senator Lindsey Graham, Representative James Clyburn, and Representative Joe Wilson accepted campaign contributions to steer federal funding toward Navatek. FBI agents had identified former Navatek executives Duke Hartman and Joshua Knight as subjects of the probe and indicated that the lawmakers could also become subjects.
The investigation stalled after FBI Director Kash Patel purged the anti-corruption unit in the Washington D.C. field office and the DOJ's anti-corruption section was forbidden from filing new cases. The targeted lawmakers and their representatives have denied any wrongdoing, describing Kao's claims as the fabrications of a convicted felon.
