(Scroll down for full text of OHA News Release and Letter to Kerry.)

UPDATE: OHA Trustees Unanimously Rescind Crabbe's Letter

Danner, Waihee, Namuo, Machado: Letter Would Have Delayed Roll Commission, Aha

"He has to understand he has nine bosses," she said. "We don't want to micromanage him, but this time he went way beyond the reach of his authority. He can't do whatever he chooses to do, especially when it's something as political as this.

"This is a good lesson for all of us," Machado said.

Former Gov. John Wai­hee, chairman of the Native Hawaiian Roll Commission, said he too was surprised by Crabbe's letter.

"My first thought was, ‘What were you thinking?'" he said.

Waihee said Crabbe was wasting his time asking a question to federal lawyers who are paid to maintain the status quo.

Clyde Namuo, executive director of the Native Hawaiian Roll Commission, said 130,000 Native Hawaiians have signed up for the roll and have demonstrated their eagerness to move forward.

"We don't believe (there should be any delays). Otherwise, we wouldn't be doing what we're doing," Namuo said.

Robin Danner, president of the Council for Native Hawaiian Advancement, called Crabbe's letter outrageous and irresponsible. She applauded the trustees for acting swiftly.

"I'm embarrassed," she said. "It's just irresponsible for him to unilaterally delay the momentum and the promise of OHA to see through Act 195 (the legislation that created the Native Hawaiian Roll Commission)."

Really Obvious Question: Will Crabbe now be fired?

  *   *   *   *   * 

OHA’s top executive makes formal request to U.S. Department of State for legal opinion on the current status of Hawai‘i under international law

News Release from State of Hawaii Office of Hawaiian Affairs

WASHINGTON, D.C. (May 9, 2014) – The Office of Hawaiian Affairs top executive submitted a formal request with the U.S. Department of State requesting a legal opinion from the U.S. Attorney General’s Office of Legal Counsel addressing the legal status of Hawai‘i under international law.

The Office of Legal Counsel drafts legal opinions of the U.S. Attorney General and also provides its own written opinions and oral advice in response to requests from the various agencies of the Executive Branch, which includes the Department of State.

Trustees and staff of the Office of Hawaiian Affairs are in Washington, D.C., at the invitation of the Department of State for a consultation with representatives of the federal government, federally recognized tribes and other indigenous peoples of the United States on May 9. The topic of the meeting is the World Conference on Indigenous Peoples, to be held at the United Nations, September 22-23, 2014. The meeting will take place at the U.S. Department of State, 23rd Street entrance, between C and D Streets, N.W., Washington, D.C.

In a letter addressed to Secretary of State John F. Kerry, OHA Chief Executive Officer Dr. Kamana‘opono Crabbe, described his request as a very important question that needs to be answered from an agency that is not only qualified but authorized to answer, saying that it is addressing very grave concerns of OHA’s activities in its efforts toward nation building.

“As the chief executive officer and administrator for the Office of Hawaiian Affairs, being a governmental agency of the State of Hawai‘i, the law places on me, as a fiduciary, strict standards of diligence, responsibility and honesty,” Crabbe said. “My executive staff, as public officials, carry out the policies and directives of the Trustees of the Office of Hawaiian Affairs in the service of the Native Hawaiian community. We are responsible to take care, through all lawful means, that we apply the best skills and diligence in the servicing of this community.”

Crabbe explained the action taken was prompted when one of his staff attended a presentation and panel discussion at the William S. Richardson School of Law on April 17, 2014 that featured former Hawai‘i Governor John Waihe‘e, III, Chairman of the Native Hawaiian Roll Commission, senior Law Professor Williamson Chang, and Dr. Keanu Sai, a political scientist (convicted felon and mortgage scammer). Click here to view a video of the Law School presentation and panel discussion.

“The presentations of Professor Chang and Dr. Sai provided a legal analysis of the current status of Hawai‘i that appeared to undermine the legal basis of the Roll Commission, and, as alleged in the panel discussions, the possibility of criminal liability under international law. Both Professor Chang and Dr. Sai specifically stated that the Federal and State of Hawai‘i governments are illegal regimes that stem from an illegal and prolonged occupation by the United States as a result of the illegal overthrow of the Hawaiian Kingdom government.” Crabbe said. “As a government agency of the State of Hawai‘i this would include the Office of Hawaiian Affairs, and by enactment of the State of Hawai‘i Legislature, it would also include the Roll Commission. Both Act 195 and U.S. Public Law 103-150, acknowledges the illegality of the overthrow.”

According to Crabbe, “These matters have raised grave concerns with regard to not only the Native Hawaiian community we serve, but also to the vicarious liability of myself, staff and Trustees of the Office of Hawaiian Affairs, and members of the Native Hawaiian Roll Commission. The community we serve, the Trustees, and many of my staff members, to include myself, and the members of the Roll Commission are Native Hawaiians, who are direct descendants of Hawaiian subjects of the Hawaiian Kingdom.”

Crabbe said he wanted to seek an opinion on the veracity of these allegations from its in house counsel or from the State of Hawai‘i Attorney General, but felt he was prevented because there would appear to be a conflict of interest if these allegations were true.

In his letter, Crabbe said, “because the Department of State is the United States’ executive department responsible for international relations and who also housed diplomatic papers and agreements with the Hawaiian Kingdom, I am respectfully submitting a formal request to have the Department of State request an opinion from the Office of Legal Counsel, Department of Justice, addressing the following questions:

• First, does the Hawaiian Kingdom, as a sovereign independent State, continue to exist as a subject of international law?
• Second, if the Hawaiian Kingdom continues to exist, do the sole-executive agreements bind the United States today?
• Third, if the Hawaiian Kingdom continues to exist and the sole-executive agreements are binding on the United States, what effect would such a conclusion have on United States domestic legislation, such as the Hawai‘i Statehood Act, 73 Stat. 4, and Act 195?
• Fourth, if the Hawaiian Kingdom continues to exist and the sole-executive agreements are binding on the United States, have the members of the Native Hawaiian Roll Commission, Trustees and staff of the Office of Hawaiian Affairs incurred criminal liability under international law?”

Click here to download the request letter.

---30---

AP: Crabbe says the agency would put nation building efforts on hold until officials are able to confirm the Hawaiian Kingdom doesn't continue to exist under international law.

2011: Sovereignty Mortgage Scammer Keanu Sai at it again with help from Legislators, Maui Council, University