The COVID-19 pandemic has come back to haunt Hawaii Lt. Gov. Sylvia Luke as a grand jury has indicted the Democrat on bribery charges for allegedly securing funding for virus testing sites in exchange for campaign contributions.
The alleged pay-to-play scheme took place when Luke was a state lawmaker.
Friday’s indictment follows state and federal investigations into the campaign finance scandal that also resulted in the indictment of a lobbyist and four other officials.
Prosecutors accused Luke of accepting campaign finance contributions in 2022 while she was a state lawmaker in exchange for securing funding for COVID-19 testing sites.
The Hawaii grand jury returned a 12-count indictment that includes charging Luke with “criminal conspiracy to commit bribery and falsifying candidate committee reports among other charges,” the Hill reported per the state’s Department of the Attorney General.
It’s alleged Luke accepted at least $35,000 in campaign contributions from lobbyist and businessman Tobi Solidum in exchange for supporting testing sites operated by the National Kidney Foundation.
Solidum, who was also indicted by the grand jury, was a lobbyist and consultant for the foundation.
According to court filings, Solidum forked two $5,000 campaign checks to Luke during a meeting at a Morton’s Steakhouse in January 2022 as they allegedly talked about state funding for COVID-19 testing sites.
Democratic Attorney General Anne Lopez said the indictments followed an investigation launched in January that followed a federal public corruption probe, according to news reports.
“From the outset of this investigation, I have repeated that we have a commitment to following the facts to where they lead, no matter how long it takes to get there,” Lopez told reporters at a news conference on Friday.
Hawaii Gov. Josh Green (D) suggested Luke should resign.
“The Attorney General announced significant developments in her department’s corruption investigation and has provided an update on their findings,” he said in a statement to Politico on Saturday. “The Lieutenant Governor needs to consider formally resigning to address this matter and so that the state of Hawaiʻi can move forward.”
Five other people were indicted on Friday. They are Solidum, former state Rep. Ryan Yamane (D), Hawaii Department of Transportation official Ford Fuchigami and former state Public Utilities Commission official Leo Asunción.
Voters elected Luke to serve as Green’s deputy in 2022. She took office in April when the campaign finance investigation first made headlines. She also ended her campaign for reelection at that time.
Governor Josh Green appointed Keith Regan, comptroller of the Department of Accounting and General Services, to serve as acting lieutenant governor in Luke’s absence.
The lieutenant governor has yet to comment on the charges.
Breitbart contributor Lowell Cauffiel is the author of the New York Times true crime best seller House of Secrets and nine other crime novels and nonfiction titles. See lowellcauffiel.com for more.