By PETER BOYLAN Honolulu Star-Advertiser
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State investigators have conducted 18 interviews and reviewed “thousands” of pages of documents as they continue to look into $35,000 in campaign contributions an influential state legislator allegedly accepted during a dinner with another lawmaker working as an FBI informant and a controversial lobbyist.

The state Department of the Attorney General in a news release Friday did not identify who was interviewed or the details of any of the “subpoenaed material.”

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Their inquiry is based on evidence from an ongoing investigation by the U.S. Department of Justice that sent Ty J.K. Cullen, the former vice chair on the state House Committee on Finance, and former state Senate Majority Leader J. Kalani English to federal prison for taking bribes from a wastewater executive.

Cullen, through his attorney, has previously acknowledged being interviewed as part of the state’s criminal probe.

“I understand that people want answers and we want the same,” said Attorney General Anne E. Lopez in the news release updating the investigation. “Following the rule of law is paramount to ensure that individual constitutional rights are protected. Releasing information for any purpose other than to further the investigation would violate my oath of office and my promise to the people of Hawaii.”

The U.S. Attorney’s Office declined to comment on the ongoing criminal investigation into the matter.

The state attorney general’s Special Investigation and Prosecution Division has “advanced its investigation by reviewing thousands of pages of subpoenaed materials and conducting 18 interviews” that have helped refine the timeline of events surrounding the transaction and is bringing investigators closer to resolving key questions,” the news release said.

Lt. Gov. Sylvia Luke told the Honolulu Star-Advertiser on Feb. 9 that she may be the “influential state legislator” who was referenced in a separate federal probe as allegedly having accepted $35,000 in a paper bag in 2022.

She maintains she did nothing wrong and did not accept cash in a bag at the dinner in question.

Luke has said she has not spoken to the FBI, but will not say if she has been interviewed by state investigators. Her attorney, former state attorney general David M. Louie, did not reply to a Star-Advertiser request for comment.

Luke’s reelection campaign also did not reply to a Star-Advertiser request for comment.

The disclosure from federal prosecutors led Lopez to announce a state investigation into the matter in January.

Luke posted a 701-word message on her campaign website in February discussing the controversy over the Jan. 20, 2022, dinner with Cullen, who recorded their conversation for the FBI, and a lobbyist and the lobbyist’s daughter.

She said in February that after a media inquiry by Civil Beat, she realized her campaign had failed to report a total of $16,000 in 2022 donations to the Hawaii Campaign Spending Commission. Then last month, Luke said she also did not report $7,870 in campaign donations and $3,882 in spending during the first six months of 2022.

The lieutenant governor updated her campaign’s report with the commission Feb. 7 and filed another amended report March 9. The panel is investigating Luke’s finances.

On Feb 17, 2022, contributions totaling $25,100 from Milton J. Choy, the man who bribed Cullen and English, and from his family and business associates that were made between Nov. 3, 2014, and March 1, 2019, were sent to the commission.

On March 25, 2022, at Luke’s instruction, her campaign refunded checks of $5,000 each to lobbyist Tobi Solidum and Kristen Pae because they are friends with Cullen and Choy.

Solidum, 66, 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.

Choy and Solidum donated a total of $31,450 to the same state and county candidates between 2014 and 2021. Altogether, Choy donated $160,150 and Solidum gave $108,626 in campaign contributions between 2014 and 2022.

Civil Beat reported that Cullen and Luke’s official emails from their time in the state House of Representatives were deleted when they left office and are not available for review by state or federal investigators.

“The criminal investigation remains active,” Lopez said Friday. “As such, the department cannot identify any individuals or discuss specific evidence. These standard investigative practices are necessary to maintain integrity of the investigation and uphold due process rights. In line with its commitment to transparency, the department will continue providing biweekly public updates while safeguarding the integrity of the investigation.”

The next scheduled update on the investigation from Lopez is scheduled for April 24.