And yet, court filings show there’s still one more player who pocketed $35,000 in 2022.
The FBI called it a “chargeable bribery offense.”
The identity of that legislator remains unknown.
Instead of stepping up, Nakamura and the House brushed off a public petition signed by hundreds of residents demanding an open investigation.
That petition, started by retired federal defender Alexander Silvert, asks only for transparency: a public hearing, subpoena power, and some good old-fashioned sunlight on the matter.
But Nakamura’s office said “not yet.”
Let’s be real: “Not yet” is how the system keeps us waiting while the guilty get away.
As Common Cause Hawai‘i’s director pointed out, “If your integrity is on the line, why wouldn’t you want the truth to come out?”
Why wouldn’t the House convene its own ethics inquiry, separate from federal prosecutors?
The Hawai‘i State Ethics Commission exists for exactly this reason, to uphold trust and accountability when political power threatens to bury the truth.
Yet here we are, watching another round of shrugging and stalling while public confidence erodes.
Hawai‘i’s government has long operated in secrecy, forgetting that true leadership involves facing difficult truths.
It requires standing firm, even when it’s one of your own who has shamed the people’s house.
This isn’t about politics. It’s about kuleana.
When House leaders ignore calls for transparency, they send a clear message to Hawai‘i’s people: corruption might be tolerated if it’s convenient.
But our kūpuna taught us better.
They taught us that aloha ‘āina, love for the land and the people, also means holding one another accountable.
Speaker Nakamura owes the people of Hawai‘i more than polite statements.
She owes us action – an open, public investigation, not excuses.
Because until our lawmakers start cleaning house, the corruption won’t stop.
And until our leaders act with pono, the people will remember who chose silence over integrity.
