Lt. Gov. Sylvia Luke has received a letter from the Hawaii Attorney General’s office informing her that she is the target of a bribery investigation into allegations that an “influential state legislator” accepted $35,000 in a paper bag at a dinner in 2022, her lawyer confirmed.
In a written statement tonight, Luke’s attorney David M. Louie confirmed that the lieutenant governor received a letter from the Special Investigations and Prosecution Division of the Department of the Attorney General stating that she “is the target of a bribery investigation.”
“SIPD has not provided us with details or evidence against Lieutenant Governor Luke. Frankly, I am surprised that bribery charges are being considered,” said Louie. “I have seen no evidence that she acted with anything but integrity and honesty. Should charges be brought against the Lieutenant Governor, they will be vigorously defended,” he said.
Gov. Josh Green’s office also confirmed that the state Attorney General had issued target letters in the case.
Without naming the subjects of the target letters, Green’s communications director, Makana McClellan, told the Honolulu Star-Advertiser that, “We can confirm that Governor Green was made aware today by the Attorney General that target letters were issued.
“Governor Green intends to meet with the LG tomorrow to discuss this very serious matter.”
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The confirmation came after Hawaii News Now first reported earlier today that Luke received a target letter last week, along with businessman and lobbyist Tobi Solidum.
Luke could not be reached immediately for comment.
Louie, who represents Luke and her campaign, the Friends of Sylvia Luke, said in his statement, “Under our justice system, every person must be presumed to be innocent until proven guilty. On behalf of Lieutenant Governor Luke and her campaign, I ask the public and the media to allow the legal process to unfold before jumping to conclusions.”
Prosecutors send target letters to inform subjects of criminal probes that they are being investigated and may face charges.
Luke announced Sunday that she will not seek a second term in the Aug. 8 Democratic Party primary after being under a cloud of suspicion for months that she was the subject of a state Attorney General investigation. On Jan. 20, the state Department of the Attorney General said it was opening an investigation into the unnamed politician who was mentioned in a separate federal corruption probe and allegedly accepted $35,000 in a paper bag at a January 2022 dinner.
On Feb. 9, Luke told the Honolulu Star-Advertiser and other media that she may be the subject of the investigation but she insisted she did not do anything illegal nor accept $35,000 in a paper bag.
At the dinner, Luke met with Solidum, his daughter and Luke’s then-Vice Chair of the House Finance Committee, Rep. Ty Cullen, who recorded the conversation for the FBI. Weeks later Cullen and former Senate Majority Leader Kalani English pleaded guilty in federal court to bribery charges and went to prison.
At the time of the dinner, Luke was the chair of the powerful House Finance Committee and was running for the Democratic nomination for lieutenant governor
On March 25, 2022, at Luke’s instruction, her campaign refunded checks of $5,000 each to Solidum and his daughter.
Solidum is a target of a federal investigation into possible public corruption and an alleged $7 million COVID-19 funding fraud. He is believed to have left the U.S. for the Philippines.
Hawaii Attorney General Anne E. Lopez declined to respond to Star-Advertiser questions about the target letters delivered to Luke and Solidum.
In a statement, Department of the Attorney General officials told the Star-Advertiser that to preserve the integrity of the investigative process, they would not comment.
“The Department is committed to transparency and will share information when it’s appropriate to do so. The Attorney General reaffirms the department’s commitment to conducting the investigation methodically, carefully and in accordance with constitutional and ethical obligations,” read the statement.