A reader over at Civil Beat posted a comment in response to my story about the conflict of interest allegations against Mike Miske’s two lead attorneys, Tom Otake and Lynn Panagakos.

Seems intentional and is confusing. Otake wants to disqualify himself, but says he shouldn’t be disqualified because the allegedly fraudulent letters?

Actually, it really isn’t confusing. Otake’s motion to withdraw from the Miske case can be read below.

In it, Otake acknowledges the conflict of interest concerns prosecutors have raised concerning the fraudulent letters of recommendation, but says he and Panagakos believe there are remedies short of disqualification to deal with the conflict, especially in light of Miske’s constitutional right to be represented by counse of his choice.

However, he then says that a different matter was disclosed to him by the government just a day before his motion was filed. He declines to provide details in public, but says he will explain to the court in a sealed hearing.

He also says that this new matter does not affect his co-counsel in the Miske case, Lynn Panagakos.

It’s very hard to speculate on what this new conflict might involve. He is currently representing former Honolulu Corporation Counsel Donna Leong, although I believe Panagakos is also involved in that case, and also represents Honolulu planning employee Wayne Inouye, who pleaded guilty to taking bribes for expediting plan reviews and is awaiting sentencing.

In addition, Otake represents Chad McDonald, a vice-president of Mitsunaga & Associates, and a defendant in the federal criminal case against former Honolulu prosecutor Keith Kaneshiro, and several other Mitsunaga employees or officers.

THOMAS M. OTAKE’S MOTION ) TO WITHDRAW AS COUNSEL 1-13-2023 by Ian Lind on Scribd