Hawaii Democrat INDICTED for alleged bribery scheme over COVID contract

Democratic Hawaii Governor Josh Green is calling for his lieutenant governor to resign from office after she was indicted on a dozen charges that included bribery and falsifying campaign reports.

Lt. Gov. Sylvia Luke, a Democrat, was indicted by a grand jury on Friday on 12 counts after a months-long investigation, according to Hawaii Attorney General Anne Lopez.

'The Lieutenant Governor needs to consider formally resigning to address this matter and so that the state of Hawaii can move forward.'

"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 said.

Luke is accused of participating in the bribery scheme with lobbyist Tobi Solidum in order to advance a COVID-19 testing contract in 2022. She was the chair of the state House Finance Committee at the time.

Four others were also indicted, including the former chair of the Dept. of Human Services, a Democrat; the former chair of the Public Utilities Commission, also a Democrat; and Solidum. Bench warrants were issued for all five of those indicted.

Green told Politico Sunday that Luke should step down.

"The attorney general announced significant developments in her department's corruption investigation and has provided an update on their findings," the governor said. "The lieutenant governor needs to consider formally resigning to address this matter and so that the state of Hawaii can move forward."

Luke took a leave of absence in April over the investigation and ended her re-election campaign.

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Luke's bail was set at $100,000 and then lowered to $80,000.

"We are asking for $100K bail simply based on the seriousness of the allegations against her. We recognize that she's not a flight risk. She's got extraordinarily strong ties to this community," Supervising Deputy Attorney General David Van Acker said, according to KHON-TV.

Bribery is a class B felony that carries a possible sentence of 10 years in prison.

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