Alexander Silvert was a lonely figure in the House gallery watching legislators torpedo a public petition he led asking the Legislature to investigate a bribery scandal involving a lawmaker and allegedly $35,000 in a paper bag.
Some accused Silvert, the former federal public defender who exposed the corruption of Louis and Katherine Kealoha, of beating a dead horse.
Attorney General Anne Lopez was already investigating and Lt. Gov. Sylvia Luke, who admitted she may have been the legislator recorded by federal authorities in the suspect transaction, ended her reelection bid and went on unpaid leave after the AG wrote her that she’s a bribery suspect.
But the case is far from over, and only a legislative inquiry may ever produce what Silvert and his 900 fellow petitioners seek: a full public accounting of what happened and what guidance it provides on reforming our pay-to-play politics.
The majority of Democratic legislators who voted to shelve the petition showed they want neither an examination of the handouts they take nor major changes to campaign rules that let them wallow in special-interest money.
They’re happy to see this disappear into the legal system after handling it more like a political problem than a corruption problem.
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It stems from the 2022 federal bribery convictions of former Sen. J. Kalani English and former Rep. Ty Cullen, who turned informant after his arrest. Federal prosecutors said in a sentencing report that Cullen recorded an “influential” legislator taking $35,000 in a paper bag from a bribery suspect.
The AG and Legislature refused to get involved, claiming it would interfere with the federal investigation. Luke, then House Finance chair, joined other lawmakers in denying it was her who was recorded.
But after the federal case went quiet, Silvert stirred things up with his petition for a legislative probe. The Legislature and AG continued to defer to the feds, but their hands were forced when federal prosecutors offered to share their evidence and Luke admitted she may have been the mystery legislator recorded, though she insisted she received only $10,000 in unreported campaign contributions, not $35,000.
Lopez launched her investigation after consulting with Gov. Josh Green, who promised not to interfere. But Green, frustrated by his inability to travel with his No. 2 under a cloud, got impatient and gave an interview suggesting the investigation was moving too slowly.
Presto, the AG sent Luke a target letter — a common federal practice less often used at the state level — and she was effectively forced out.
Kauai Mayor Derek Kawakami has already announced a run for LG, backed by the powerful Carpenters Union that opposed Luke’s election in 2022. If Kawakami wins, he’ll be the favorite to succeed Green, also a Carpenters’ endorsee.
The political forces have their interests tied in a neat bow, but the maneuvers do little to serve the public interest of preventing corruption. If no charges are filed against Luke or others, or if it ends in a plea deal, the public may never know what was on that federal recording.
Silvert is right that only an open investigation by the Legislature can fully illustrate what occurred and help end pay-to-play.
Reach David Shapiro at [email protected].