A Little Context
Footnotes to the Absurd
On September 22, 2026, ProPublica reported that FBI agents had spent much of 2024 examining allegations involving former Navatek CEO Martin Kao, campaign contributions and Navy contracts promoted by Sen. Susan Collins’ office. According to the report, agents believed the information warranted seeking approval for a broader public-corruption investigation, although the inquiry remained preliminary and its eventual findings were unknown.
Kao was a convicted felon seeking a reduced sentence, giving investigators reason to question his credibility. ProPublica reported that agents found records consistent with portions of his account, but no one connected to Collins was charged. Collins vigorously denies any bribery or pay-to-play arrangement.
After President Trump returned to office in 2025, the FBI disbanded the Washington public-corruption squad involved in the inquiry. The FBI says an earlier investigation found nothing implicating Collins or her campaign, but it did not answer ProPublica’s questions about the separate inquiry developed from Kao’s later cooperation in 2024.
The smoke in the cartoon represents unresolved questions, not proof of wrongdoing. The joke rests on a simpler distinction: removing the alarm is not the same as determining whether there was a fire.