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Hawaii Lieutenant Governor Indicted on Bribery and Campaign‑Finance Charges

Prosecutors say campaign payments were tied to efforts to secure state COVID-19 testing contracts and the indictment has triggered calls for her to consider resignation.

Overview

  • A state grand jury on Saturday, July 25, 2026, indicted Lt. Gov. Sylvia Luke on criminal conspiracy to commit bribery, bribery, and falsifying candidate committee reports.
  • Prosecutors allege lobbyist Tobi Solidum promised a total of $70,000 to Luke’s campaign in exchange for assistance keeping COVID-19 testing contracts and that Luke accepted two $5,000 checks in January 2022.
  • Solidum and four other officials, including former lawmaker Ryan Yamane, DOT official Ford Fuchigami, and former PUC official Leo Asunción, were also indicted in the attorney general’s probe.
  • Luke has acknowledged receiving the two $5,000 checks but says she did not get additional payments and denies that contributions influenced her official acts; the indictment quotes alleged statements tying payments to contracts.
  • Attorney General Anne Lopez opened the probe as an offshoot of a federal bribery investigation, and Governor Josh Green publicly urged Luke to consider resigning as the case moves into criminal proceedings.