US US Politics General 2: Hope Edition - Discussion of President Trump and other politicians

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Should be a wild four years.

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Current members of the House of Representatives
https://www.house.gov/representatives

Current members of the Senate
https://www.senate.gov/senators/

Current members of the US Supreme Court
https://www.supremecourt.gov/about/biographies.aspx

Members of the Trump Administration
https://www.whitehouse.gov/administration/
 
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Thiletonomics said:
Hawaii Lt. Governor Sylvia Luke has come under fire for taking bribes, going back as far as 2022. / Archive

She's also trying to say the excuse of how she was "caught off guard" by that incident. And this also being the state where someone put $35k in cash in a paper bag and gave it for bribery, Pele would have to literally start erupting on Oahu to cleanse the filth and corruption from there, and even she may not be able to pull that off.
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Quoting myself with these updates:

Luke announced that she will not be running for re-election to a 2nd Lt. Governor term. / Archive

HONOLULU (HawaiiNewsNow) - Lieutenant Governor Sylvia Luke announced she will not seek reelection to a second term.

The decision comes after three months of controversy over possible campaign spending violations and an investigation by the state Attorney General.

Luke released a statement Sunday stating:

“This weekend, after a long discussion with my family and close friends, I decided not to seek reelection to a second term as Lieutenant Governor.

It was a difficult decision. Serving the people of Hawaii has been an honor, and my family has always been supportive of my passion for this work. But the last three months have been difficult, making the rigors of campaigning exceptionally burdensome for my family. While I have always been a fighter, I cannot tolerate the toll that they are paying.

I intend to continue doing the job I was elected to do, offering my best effort to the people of Hawaii every day."

HNN political analyst Colin Moore explained that campaigns are difficult and can be “brutal experiences for someone’s family.”

“I think that having her family to go through this with her would have been very tough,” Moore said.

In February, Luke admitted to errors in reporting donations during her 2022 run for lieutenant governor.

The Hawaii Campaign Spending Commission confirmed it was looking into that account for possible violations on April 10.

The State of Hawaii Department of the Attorney General is currently three months into another investigation on a potential lawmaker who took a $35,000 bribe, and Luke said she may be the elected official that they are investigating.

She defended herself in a social media post:

“It is important that I make three things very clear. I have never personally enriched myself or any campaign supporter. I have never granted special favors to a contributor. And I have never intentionally violated campaign finance rules,” Luke said in the February post.

But Moore said the lieutenant governor tried to explain her version of the story, but “I don’t think that’s really sunk down into the electorate.”

“For many people, what they know best now about the lieutenant governor is that there was something, some kind of campaign finance violation that was questionable. And that can be a very difficult thing for any candidate to overcome,” Moore said.

Luke also faced a strong challenge from Kauai Mayor Derek Kawakami, who’s barred from seeking another term.

The Pacific Resource Partnership political action committee has already run ads supporting Kawakami.

“Having to mount a re-election campaign when you’re going against another popular, reasonably well-known candidate who’s likely to have a lot of financial backers and get some strong endorsements. It just means it’s even harder,” Moore said.

In a statement, Kawakami said:

“I respect Sylvia’s decision and deeply appreciate her nearly three decades of public service to Hawaii. She has dedicated so much to our state, and I am grateful for her commitment and contributions to the people of Hawaii.”

Following Luke’s announcement, Gov. Josh Green said in a statement he acknowledged and respected Luke’s decision not to seek reelection.
Archive
“I acknowledge and respect the decision that the Lieutenant Governor has made to not seek reelection. Sylvia’s longevity of service to the state for more than two decades leaves no doubt how much she cares about the people of Hawaii. For more than three years as LG, Sylvia has made great progress in helping our keiki get access to universal preschool, something that has helped many local families.”

Luke had served in the state House of Representatives for 24 years, including nine years as chair of the powerful House Finance committee, before becoming lieutenant governor.

Copyright 2026 Hawaii News Now. All rights reserved.
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Luke received a target letter that states of her being under investigation for bribery. / Archive

HONOLULU (HawaiiNewsNow) - Lt. Gov. Sylvia Luke was given a target letter by the Attorney General’s office last week, HNN Investigates has learned.

Former attorney general David Louie, who is representing Luke and her campaign, confirmed Wednesday that their office has received a target letter from the Special Investigations and Prosecutions Division of the Department of the Attorney General.

In a statement, Louie said, “I have seen no evidence that she acted with anything but integrity and honesty. Should charges be brought against the lieutenant governor, they will be vigorously defended.”

On Sunday, April 19, Luke announced that she would not be seeking reelection, but she is still working as lieutenant governor.

Sources tell HNN Investigates that lobbyist and businessman Tobi Solidum also received a target letter in the case.

Luke and Solidum had dinner together in January 2022. Also in attendance and secretly recording the dinner conversation was former state Rep. Ty Cullen, who had become an FBI informant after he was snagged in a federal bribery case.

Investigation details
The target letters were emailed, and notified Luke and Solidum that the attorney general’s investigation had uncovered evidence of bribery.

The letters cited the Hawaii bribery statute, which says that a person commits that crime if they confer “or agrees to confer, directly or indirectly, any pecuniary benefit upon a public servant with the intent to influence that public servant’s vote, opinion, judgment,” or other action.

The law continues that a public servant commits that same crime if they “solicit, accepts or agrees to accept” a benefit with the intent to influence the donor’s vote, opinion, judgment or other action.

HNN Political Analyst Colin Moore said Luke should take a leave of absence given the new development, “I think it’s very hard to imagine the second most powerful person in state government continuing on with the target letter.”

Federal and state prosecutors have been investigating an unnamed, influential state lawmaker who took $35,000 for a campaign in 2022 in a suspected pay-to-play deal involving Solidum, who made millions during the COVID-19 pandemic when he secured no-bid government contracts to quickly set up testing sites and a lab.

Earlier this year, Luke said she may be part of that investigation but insisted that she did not take $35,000. Rather, she said accounting errors in her campaign books were behind unreported donation checks from Tobi Solidum and his daughter.

Legal significance
Legal experts said the target letters show prosecutors have found concerning information.

“It is a significant development because it’s a public acknowledgement that the government has substantial evidence that may warrant a charging of a crime,” said retired Circuit Court Judge Randy Lee, who was also a longtime deputy city prosecutor.

“It’s an invitation to basically squeal on anybody else and any other information you may have on other criminal investigations or other criminal acts.”

Defense attorney and former deputy city prosecutor Megan Kau agreed, “The government doesn’t just willy-nilly issue these target letters,” she said.

“They’re looking at someone that can give them information,” Kau added.

Attempts to reach Luke by phone and at her office Tuesday were unsuccessful.

Moore said Luke has every right to defend herself publicly but, “that’s different than saying she should continue in her position,”

“One of the major roles of the lieutenant governor is that you are in charge of the state when the governor is gone,” Moore said. “And that means you have to have the trust of the governor, you have to have the trust of legislators, and most importantly, you have to have the trust of residents.”

In a statement to HNN Investigates, a spokesperson for the state Attorney General’s office said, “To preserve the integrity of the investigative process, the Department of the Attorney General will not comment.”

The statement continued, they are “committed to transparency and will share information when it’s appropriate to do so. The Attorney General reaffirms the department’s commitment to conducting the investigation methodically, carefully and in accordance with constitutional and ethical obligations.”
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Luke then announced that she will go on indefinite leave without pay. / Archive

HONOLULU (HawaiiNewsNow) - A day after her attorney confirmed she’s the target of a bribery investigation by the Department of the Attorney General, Lt. Gov. Sylvia Luke announced she’s taking a leave of absence without pay for an indefinite period.

Luke’s campaign, which was suspended Sunday, released a statement.

“This decision is not made lightly. Serving the people of Hawaii has been the honor of my professional life, and I remain deeply committed to the responsibilities entrusted to me,” the statement said.

Green requests leave of absence
Following her statement, Gov. Josh Green said he met with Luke at his request.

“I asked her to take a leave of absence until the investigation is completely resolved, so government can remain focused on serving the people of Hawaii,” Green said.

Luke was in her office earlier Thursday and left without speaking to the media. Her office released a statement saying it’s open during business hours and continuing operations.

The statement released by her office continued:

“I understand that allegations which have been made against me are concerning. I ask for the public’s understanding and to allow this process to move forward appropriately.”

State Rep. Kanani Souza, a former deputy city prosecutor said, “The number one objective is to restore the public trust, so whatever flows from this evolving whirlwind of a situation, we need to make sure that is the main.”

HNN Political Analyst Colin Moore applauded Luke’s decision to take unpaid leave so the focus on government work can continue as the legislative session moves into the final weeks and so “the election for LG can move forward cleanly.”

Luke announced Sunday that she would not run for re-election citing the toll of campaigning on her and her family. That was after Luke was sent the target letter from the state Attorney General’s office and her statement didn’t mention the letter.

Moore said Luke should have been upfront about that, “I think it would have been much better if she had revealed all of that at the same moment instead of waiting for the media to discover this independently.”

Retired federal public defender Alexander Silvert agreed. Silvert said a target letter is a warning that evidence links a person to an alleged crime. In Luke’s case, the letter said investigators found evidence of bribery.

Former Hawaii Attorney General Doug Chin said the decision by Luke lifts the cloud over the capitol and ends the distraction.

“It’s what everybody ends up talking about,” Chin said, “Because of that distraction, oftentimes public officials will make the decision that it’s just better for them to step away from that so that the work of the office can continue happening.”

Succession question
Senate President Ron Kouchi said the reports are clear that if the lieutenant governor stepped down, he’s next in line.

“I’m not interested in serving as lieutenant governor. I would continue serving in the Senate and running for reelection,” Kouchi said.

A House spokesperson said Speaker Nadine Nakamura told the governor she respectfully declines.

Next in line is state Attorney General Anne Lopez, whose Special Investigations and Prosecution Division is conducting the criminal probe. Lopez previously said she would not take the job.

Green later announced Keith Regan, comptroller of the Department of Accounting and General Services, as acting lieutenant governor.
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Sammich said:
Nick, sure that's weird, but Candace? Not sure why the SPLC indictments would involve her at all.
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Hers may have just been a case of unlucky timing, as her entire legal staff quit on her, and she's clearly trying to hide behind her Brit husband's stacks of generational wealth.
Funny how both she and Tucker already married into more money than they'd ever need, yet they still feel compelled to grift.
 
Hannibalistique said:
It's more that you'd think some population somewhere would've come up with a healthy/sustainable culture permitting female education.
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I know, late and autistic, but something about this stuck in my craw. Education has not been forbidden to Western girls basically ever. Girls of decent social standing have been expected to be literate for centuries. Jane Austen never feared imprisonment for committing the crime of learning to read. What changed wasn't whether we educated girls, but why. What we didn't do before was educate girls to join the professional class. Now we do. We did this because they complained it wasn't fair and thought we men had all kinds of awesome fun at the office that they weren't getting invited to. Then they joined the office, discovered we weren't respecting trannies' pronouns, and here we are. But yeah, putting in a solid 40 hours at Jew day care leaves a woman with little time and energy to start a family, plus the independent income makes a lot of men less attractive to her.
 
StarkRavingMad said:
Steven Crowder has my favorite take (a.k.a. the sanest take) on this specific story:

"If this had happened in an open carry state and I had witnessed this crime, I would have killed the man ... And I wouldn't even have missed lunch."
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>Steven Crowder

>sane take

You my friend, need to stop watching the literal bottom of the barrel political slop
 
Sweeter and Savoury said:
If Act Blue goes down...the Democrats are going to be in a world of hurt for 2028. Without access to massive amounts of untraceable cash to feed into their propaganda machine they're royally fucked. On the downside it will take team of expert forensic accountants years to track down all the funds Act Blue spread around in the US during 2020 to 2025
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Keep in mind that King Choco was the one who originated this tactic in 2008. ActBlue did all this specifically because the left so rarely gets pinched for their criminal activity. Trump really sent these idiots off the deep end and now they're apparently leaning extremely hard into provoking a civil war in the next half-decade, out of sheer spite for Americans not giving them complete political hegemony.
 
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