Fact check
“No one in Collins’ orbit was charged as a result of that earlier investigation.”
Reasoning
The claim is directly corroborated by the excerpt from the ProPublica piece, which says, “No one in Collins’ orbit was charged as a result of that earlier…”. This matches the claim word‑for‑word, providing clear support.
On confidence: The provided ProPublica article explicitly states that no individual in Senator Collins' orbit was charged as a result of the earlier investigation.
Important context
The statement refers to the FBI’s initial investigation of Kao that began in 2021, not the later investigation under the Trump administration.
Evidence
Supporting (1)
- Tier 1 — Primary sourceProPublica Debunks Susan Collins’ Claims About FBI Anti-Corruption Probe — ProPublica
ago “and ultimately found nothing implicating Senator Collins or Senator Collins’ campaign.” But the investigation at the center of ProPublica’s story was based on claims Kao made between 2022 through 2024 — not seven years ago, as Collins…
Limitations
The assessment relies on a single source; additional independent verification would strengthen the conclusion, but the source directly addresses the claim.
- Last verified:
- Sep 27, 2026, 4:49 AM CDT
- Pipeline:
- 2.1.0
- Claim type:
- Factual
Where this claim appeared
Susan Collins Dismissed Our Reporting as Old News. Some of Her Claims Aren’t True.ProPublica · William Turton