The Hawaii Department of the Attorney General has announced it will not pursue a state-level investigation at this time into an incident involving approximately $35,000 allegedly given to an unnamed influential state legislator. The funds were purportedly intended for use in an existing campaign. This decision comes as a result of coordination with the U.S. Attorney’s Office for the District of Hawaiʻi.
The case is linked to a broader federal investigation that previously led to the convictions of former Senator Jamie Kalani English and former Representative Ty Cullen for Honest Services Wire Fraud in February 2022. According to a previously sealed federal court filing, Ty Cullen recorded a meeting as part of the investigation where the alleged transfer of funds took place.
After consulting with federal authorities, state officials determined that any parallel state investigation could interfere with ongoing federal proceedings. “The decision to defer investigative action was made after direct consultation with the U.S. Attorney’s Office for the District of Hawaiʻi, at which time it was made clear that any parallel state investigation into the $35,000 in funds would interfere with the ongoing federal investigation. The U.S. Attorney’s Office declined to share any evidence whatsoever with the state relating to this matter,” according to the statement from the Department of the Attorney General.
Officials also noted that it is standard practice among law enforcement agencies not to comment on active investigations or their status in order to protect their integrity and ensure successful prosecution in court. “While the public nature of the existence of this federal investigation is unique because of the disclosure of a previously sealed document, as a general matter, the Department of the Attorney General, along with other law enforcement agencies, do not make statements on the existence or the status of its investigations. The reason for this practice is widely accepted across the law enforcement community: the integrity of investigations must be protected in the interests of justice, including the prevention of compromising evidence and witnesses as well as successful prosecutions of cases in court.”
The statement further explained why concurrent investigations can be problematic: “In the same vein, when one law enforcement agency is conducting an active investigation, a second entity initiating an investigation into the same matter could have catastrophic consequences for both. A subject not alerted to the first investigation may be alerted by the second — evidence may be destroyed, statements coordinated, witnesses intimidated.”
State authorities indicated they will continue deferring action until federal investigators complete their work.
