Hawaii News Now reported last night that a number of witnesses associated with Mitsunaga & Associates, a politically active architectural and engineering firm, have been called for repeat appearances before the federal grand jury investigating former Honolulu Prosecutor Keith Kaneshiro, but an attorney representing the company says the story is wrong (“Attorney for Kaneshiro campaign donors disputes report connecting clients to corruption probe“).

An earlier story reported the grand jury was looking at a case brought by Kaneshiro’s office against a former Mitsunaga employee who had sued the company (“Federal authorities zero in on Kaneshiro campaign donors in next phase of corruption probe“).

“It appears the federal grand jury is hearing evidence surrounding the false prosecution of a former employee of the firm,” HNN first reported in March.

Civil Beat reported in July 2017 that the case against the former employee was dismissed by Circuit Court Judge Karen Nakasone, who called the prosecution “highly unusual,” “irregular” and a “threat to the judicial process.”

Data published by the Campaign Spending Commission show Mitsunaga & Associates, along with family members and related companies, contributed a total of $903,888.82 to state and local candidates in Hawaii between 2006 and the end of 2020.

The Mitsunaga-related donors gave a total of $40,000 to Keith Kaneshiro’s campaign, most to his successful 2016 reelection effort.

Kaneshiro ranked #7 among the top recipients of Matsunaga-related campaign funds, based on a quick analysis of contribution data from the Campaign Spending Commission.