What if Sylvia Luke is Telling the Truth?
by Andrew Walden
“Luke told the Honolulu Star-Advertiser in an interview Monday amid the ongoing furor that she did not take $35,000 in a paper bag in front of state House colleague turned FBI informant Ty J.K. Cullen during a January 2022 dinner, but did accept $10,000 in checks for her campaign from two people whom Cullen introduced her to that night.” -- Star-Adv Feb 10, 2026
What if Sylvia Luke is telling the truth?
As House Finance Chair, Luke didn’t take a $35K bribe. She took a $10K bribe. And there was no brown paper bag.
Ty Cullen never said the $35K bribe was the only bribe he ever recorded.
We already know that, as Luke’s Vice Chair, Ty Cullen, was worth a $3K bribe.
If the Chair of House Finance is worth $10K, then Senate Ways and Means Chair DelaCruz is also worth $10K.
The $35K price tag would obviously attach to the House Speaker and the Senate President.
If Sylvia Luke is telling the truth, it means the $35K bribe recipient is still out there, unidentified.
This is where Senate President Ron Kouchi’s timeline gets interesting:
Sept 12, 2024: Kouchi not running for reelection in 2026—Kawakami to take seat -- Has Kouchi has been given a ‘target letter’ or been secretly indicted? At this point the public was unaware of the $35K bribe.
March 27, 2025: Civil Beat: FBI Recorded Hawaiʻi Lawmaker Being Given $35,000 -- QUOTE: “If you run this story, you’ve been told by the acting U.S. Attorney that it will endanger an ongoing operation.”
Aug 17, 2025: Kouchi Changes Mind—Will serve one more term as Senate President -- Did Civil Beat, by ‘endangering the ongoing operation,’ save Kouchi?
Ironically, Kouchi’s crony Derek Kawakami could be a leading contender to take Sylvia Luke’s LG Position in the August, 2026, Primary race.
In 2028, a Democrat may retake the White House and appoint Josh Green Secretary of HHS.
When Green resigns to accept the position, LG Kawakami would become Governor. Team Kouchi would thereby capture the 5th Floor. Kawakami could be reelected twice, serving a total of 10 years from 2028 to 2038.
And it all starts with Civil Beat “endangering the ongoing operation.”
What could Kouchi give Pierre Omidyar in exchange for 10 years of the Governorship?
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