A coalition of government accountability advocates is calling on the Hawaiʻi attorney general to recuse herself from the investigation into a lawmaker who took $35,000 in a paper bag and instead appoint an independent prosecutor. 

The demand comes after Lt. Gov. Sylvia Luke told multiple media organizations that she might be the “influential” state lawmaker the Department of Justice identified during a federal bribery investigation. Luke told Civil Beat that she did not take that much and that it came in the form of two campaign contribution checks over dinner.

The Clean Elections Hawai‘i Coalition, made up of 40 pro-democracy organizations, said in a press release on Tuesday afternoon that an “impartial special prosecutor” is now needed to ensure public trust in the investigation.  

“The Executive Branch cannot investigate itself,” the group said. “Restoring public trust requires an appropriate arm’s length distance from the interested parties in the Executive Branch.”

A spokeswoman for Hawaiʻi AG Anne Lopez issued a statement saying recusal is not needed. The agency’s Special Investigation and Prosecution Division was created specifically to handle public corruption cases, Toni Schwartz said. 

“Recusal is appropriate when there is a legal conflict of interest,” Schwartz said. “In this case, there is none.”

Questions Left Unanswered 

Luke’s admission is both stunning and contradictory. 

On one hand, she told Hawaiʻi News Now and the Honolulu Star-Advertiser she may be the person former state representative Ty Cullen recorded accepting $35,000 from the subject of a federal bribery investigation. It was an extraordinary statement to make months into a mystery that has captured public attention.

And yet Luke simultaneously denies ever taking $35,000, in a paper bag or otherwise. Instead, she acknowledged she took two $5,000 checks from individuals connected to the bribery scandal and failed to report them until four years later, after Civil Beat inquired about it. 

Luke has since updated her campaign finance reports to show the combined $10,000 from businessman Tobi Solidum and his stepdaughter Kristen Pae, both of whom Civil Beat has been unable to reach for comment. 

Solidum was a friend of Cullen and someone who worked as a nonprofit contractor alongside Milton Choy, the man who bribed Cullen and other government officials. Luke issued refunds for the $10,000 in the wake of Cullen’s charges and now says she did so because she was uncomfortable with Solidum’s proximity to Cullen and Choy.

INVESTIGATION: Sylvia Luke Quietly Took Thousands From This Lobbyist Linked To Cullen

Asked for clarity on the monetary discrepancy on Monday, Luke scheduled an interview with Civil Beat for Tuesday afternoon through Ann Botticelli, a public relations professional who is working with her campaign. Botticelli herself acknowledged in text messages that the two stories literally don’t add up. 

“It’s all clear as mud, you are right,” Botticelli said. 

Nevertheless, they canceled the interview hours before it was set to occur. 

Civil Beat sent numerous questions in writing, asking why Luke believes she could be the lawmaker in question, whether she may have failed to report any other campaign donations and whether she has hired a criminal defense attorney. In response, Botticelli passed along a short statement from Luke: “You have a lot of questions and so do we. That is why it is best to allow the AG to complete its investigation.”

Alexander Silvert, an attorney who has been leading the charge for transparency and accountability in the case, said what Luke has shared doesn’t explain the $35,000 incident.

“Her story makes no sense whatsoever,” he said.

To believe Luke, Silvert said, is to suggest that acting U.S Attorney Ken Sorenson was either mistaken or lying about the existence of the $35,000 payment — a transaction Sorenson disclosed under seal to a federal judge in 2023 and has referred to since in a letter to Hawaiʻi’s House speaker. 

“Those are the facts,” said Silvert, a former federal public defender. “There is no misunderstanding. There is no ambiguity in that. Luke’s story makes no sense that she could possibly think she was the $35,000 person, unless there is something else going on that we don’t know about.” 

An investigation should explain the story of the $35,000 and now also probe Luke’s failure to timely disclose the $10,000 she received, Silvert said, adding that could involve looking at her emails and campaign documents and interviewing witnesses.

“That is a campaign spending violation,” Silvert said. “And if it was intentional — for such a long period of time — that should be referred for criminal prosecution.” 

In Silvert’s opinion, the AG can’t be expected to fairly investigate the lieutenant of her boss, Gov. Josh Green. Either Lopez should step aside, Silvert said, or Green should appoint a special prosecutor. 

“This is an obvious conflict of interest,” he said. “If the AG doesn’t recuse, it’s going to look like a cover-up.” 

Meanwhile, a petition calling for a legislative investigation into the $35,000 matter is awaiting action in the House of Representatives. Speaker Nadine Nakamura has not shared what she plans to do with it.

Reps. Kanani Souza and Della Au Belatti, who is running for Congress, have called on Gov. Green to direct the AG to file a public preliminary report by Feb. 17. They said the report should disclose whether the lawmaker in question is currently serving in the Legislature or in the executive branch. The governor has not yet responded.

Earlier Tuesday, Green responded to the new information, however, calling the underlying situation “deeply concerning” adding that “accountability is essential – no one gets a free pass.”