Commentary

John Pritchett: Business As Usual

Defendants in a federal corruption case including former Honolulu prosecutor Keith Kaneshiro and businessman Dennis Mitsunaga were acquitted on bribery charges after defense attorneys argued that pay-to-play is a common practice when giving campaign donations, not bribery.

By John Pritchett

May 26, 2024 · 1 min read

John Pritchett/Civil Beat/2024

About the Author

John Pritchett

John Pritchett is an award-winning cartoonist. He has created artwork in Hawaii for decades, including 20 years at the Honolulu Weekly. See his portfolio on the web at: pritchettcartoons.com. Opinions are the author’s own and do not necessarily reflect Civil Beat’s views.

Defendants in a federal corruption case including former Honolulu prosecutor Keith Kaneshiro and businessman Dennis Mitsunaga were acquitted on bribery charges after defense attorneys argued that pay-to-play is a common practice when giving campaign donations, not bribery.

(John Pritchett/Civil Beat/2024)

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About the Author

John Pritchett

John Pritchett is an award-winning cartoonist. He has created artwork in Hawaii for decades, including 20 years at the Honolulu Weekly. See his portfolio on the web at: pritchettcartoons.com. Opinions are the author’s own and do not necessarily reflect Civil Beat’s views.

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Pay-to-play , on other words- donate to a political campaign in exchange for services- IS a form of bribery. The 12 jury members think bribery is okay, but the general public doesn’t.

palakakanaka · 2 years ago

What would have happened if the case ever arose where Kaneshiro needed to prosecute Mitsunaga? There's an obvious conflict of interest. Perhaps campaign contributions to the prosecutor's races should abolished and replaced with public funding.

Waianae4Eva · 2 years ago

We have come to accept bad behavior and corruption. So sad. When on when will Hawaii wake up from their stupper?

SillyState · 2 years ago

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