Matt Butler

ALT Excerpt from article: ProPublica is revealing the existence of the case for the first time. We reviewed a trove of evidence gathered by the FBI and thousands of pages of legal records, and interviewed dozens of people familiar with Navatek, its Washington operations, and the FBI inquiry to conduct our own investigation. We independently corroborated much of Kao’s account. Whether or not Kao’s dealings with politicians amount to criminal bribery, the Trump Justice Department has little interest in finding out, and his sheer success reveals how easily influence is purchased in Washington today. This is the first in a series of stories drawn from our reporting.

ALT Emails Between Martin Kao and Scott Reed, Discussing Contributions to the Susan Collins Super PAC, 1820 PAC “Hi Scott: Had a chance to discuss 1820 with my CFO and attorney last night. They are suggesting setting up a separate new LLC to make the donations. Name of new LLC: Society of Young Women Scientists and Engineers. In my personal real estate investments, we often use LLCs that can be set up to "facilitate" transactions. They are super vague and very difficult to get any background info on. Totally legal and typically used in real estate transactions to conceal the identity of buyer/seller. Wanted to get your thoughts/concerns.” — email from Martin Kao to Scott Reed, Nov. 22, 2019 “Very smart and glad your counsel understands. Thanks for doing this.” — email from Scott Reed to Martin Kao, Nov. 22, 2019 “Great! We will proceed on getting this set up ASAP. Have a nice weekend.” — email from Martin Kao to Scott Reed, Nov. 22, 2019