Editorial: Bring fraud probe to quick, clear end

The tangled web of insider politics in Hawaii can be as intriguing as it is damaging. Currently, what began as questions about $35,000 in a paper bag accepted by “an influential state legislator” is mushrooming into a scandalous cloud engulfing at least three top-level officials: Lt. Gov. Sylvia Luke, now on unpaid leave; Human Services Director Ryan Yamane, who abruptly retired last week, at the governor’s insistence; and former Public Utilities Commission chairman Leo Asuncion, who suddenly resigned in November seven months before his term was up. All have been questioned by the state Attorney General’s Office, whose expanding probe now includes millions of dollars of COVID-test contracts, which federal investigators also are delving into.

See the original article at: Honolulu Star-Advertiser