Tuesday, November 12, 2024
Hawai'i Free Press

Current Articles | Archives

Tuesday, December 17, 2013
Samoa Reporter Accidentally Admits Coverup: Missing Congressman Found "Convalescing in Utah"
By Andrew Walden @ 11:25 PM :: 11212 Views :: National News, Ethics, First Amendment, Politicians

by Andrew Walden

American Samoa Congressional Delegate Eni Fa'aua'a Hunkin Faleomavaega, Jr has been found.  According to a source in the media, he is "convalescing in Utah at his home."

Rep Faleomavaega had a medical emergency of undisclosed type on a flight from Honolulu to Pago Pago October 21, 2013.  He was subsequently medevac'd to Tripler.  At last report November 16, Faleomavaega was “moved from Tripler... and will return to either Utah or Washington DC, as he undergoes further rehab.”  No subsequent coverage established which of the two locations Faleomavaega was transported to or what his condition is.  

Today's revelation came in a Radio Australia interview with Talanei.com Editor Monica Miller.  In the midst of denying that her media outlets are engaged in a "cover-up" of Faleomavaega's illness and whereabouts, Miller unwittingly proved the opposite.  By revealing the Delegate's current location in Utah, not Washington, DC -- Miller demonstrated that Talanei and is affiliated radio station KHJ-FM have been withholding information from their readers and listeners.  

It gets better.  Miller exposed her own coverup immediately after complaining, "the Hawaii Free Press, they call themselves investigative reporters, but they don't really do much investigating."

"Investigating" was required until a source--Miller--was forced to cough up the information.  American Samoa was being bamboozled by stenography journalism.  Samoa News and Talanei have been pretending Faleomavaega was in Washington DC doing his job by repeating phony Congressional news releases as if they were independent news stories.  This became crystal - clear when Faleomavaega became a no-show at videotaped hearings and other recent events

Even today, just as Miller was making her accidental revelations to Radio Australia, a Samoa News article quotes Faleomavaega expressing thanks for inclusion of a American Samoa National Guard unit in the recent House budget bill.  Clearly written to create the illusion of normal Congressional functioning, the article gives no mention of Faleomavaega's illness, and no explanation of whether the statement was delivered verbally, was written from his bed in Utah, was written by staff acting with or without his knowledge, or whether readers should take the statement as a sign that Faleomavaega had recovered.  

No coverup?  It seems that ghoulish American Samoa Democrats need to exploit Faleomavaega for their own political benefit even as he lays stricken. 

Perhaps inspired by the corrupt American Samoa Government's notorious 2009 tsunami debacle (after 34 Samoans were killed, CNN discovered that emergency siren funds had earlier been wasted on 'tvs and leather chairs') the FBI spent the first six months of 2012 rounding up corrupt officials in American Samoa.  Several are now incarcerated in Federal Prisons. 

Obviously they missed a few.

Samoa News elects to print a December 13 letter to the editor from Phillip Swett.  A Newport, Oregon resident who identifies himself as a long-time crony of Faleomavaega, Swett implicitly threatens the life of the anonymous author of the ABCDEFG Blog--which has contributed its reporting to HawaiiFreePress.com.   Swett writes: "I am violently annoyed that some 'allegedly anonymous' site is criticizing him during his time of suffering.  What low-down, self-serving, nasty person would stoop that low?  Shame, shame on them and may God have no mercy on their souls."

On December 17, a former Faleomavaega staffer, Line'-Noue Memea Kruse, chimes in with her support for Swett's letter.

American Samoans not connected to Faleomavaega's political machine have a different view.  Tellingly, they are also a lot less likely to identify themselves. 

In an October 24 post, one explains: "He gave us the crappy LBJ (Medical Center) but he is too good for it himself. Interesting." 

Another asks: "So we medivac every grandmother and grandfather when sick? Eni deserves the same services at LBJ that everybody else receives. Turn that plane around and receive the same great benefit fitting for a Congressman at LBJ just like everybody else. What's the matter, does this special elitist deserve better service than the rest of us? Reap what you sow people, reap what you sow."

---30---

Previous Coverage:

Political Corruption in American Samoa:

Links

TEXT "follow HawaiiFreePress" to 40404

Register to Vote

2aHawaii

Aloha Pregnancy Care Center

AntiPlanner

Antonio Gramsci Reading List

A Place for Women in Waipio

Ballotpedia Hawaii

Broken Trust

Build More Hawaiian Homes Working Group

Christian Homeschoolers of Hawaii

Cliff Slater's Second Opinion

DVids Hawaii

FIRE

Fix Oahu!

Frontline: The Fixers

Genetic Literacy Project

Grassroot Institute

Habele.org

Hawaii Aquarium Fish Report

Hawaii Aviation Preservation Society

Hawaii Catholic TV

Hawaii Christian Coalition

Hawaii Cigar Association

Hawaii ConCon Info

Hawaii Debt Clock

Hawaii Defense Foundation

Hawaii Family Forum

Hawaii Farmers and Ranchers United

Hawaii Farmer's Daughter

Hawaii Federation of Republican Women

Hawaii History Blog

Hawaii Jihadi Trial

Hawaii Legal News

Hawaii Legal Short-Term Rental Alliance

Hawaii Matters

Hawaii Military History

Hawaii's Partnership for Appropriate & Compassionate Care

Hawaii Public Charter School Network

Hawaii Rifle Association

Hawaii Shippers Council

Hawaii Together

HiFiCo

Hiram Fong Papers

Homeschool Legal Defense Hawaii

Honolulu Navy League

Honolulu Traffic

House Minority Blog

Imua TMT

Inouye-Kwock, NYT 1992

Inside the Nature Conservancy

Inverse Condemnation

July 4 in Hawaii

Land and Power in Hawaii

Lessons in Firearm Education

Lingle Years

Managed Care Matters -- Hawaii

MentalIllnessPolicy.org

Missile Defense Advocacy

MIS Veterans Hawaii

NAMI Hawaii

Natatorium.org

National Parents Org Hawaii

NFIB Hawaii News

NRA-ILA Hawaii

Obookiah

OHA Lies

Opt Out Today

Patients Rights Council Hawaii

Practical Policy Institute of Hawaii

Pritchett Cartoons

Pro-GMO Hawaii

RailRipoff.com

Rental by Owner Awareness Assn

Research Institute for Hawaii USA

Rick Hamada Show

RJ Rummel

School Choice in Hawaii

SenatorFong.com

Talking Tax

Tax Foundation of Hawaii

The Real Hanabusa

Time Out Honolulu

Trustee Akina KWO Columns

Waagey.org

West Maui Taxpayers Association

What Natalie Thinks

Whole Life Hawaii