Well, it has been a fascinating six years digging into the Mike Miske case. I learned a lot, dug up a lot of interesting details about the case, wrote hundreds of stories and blog posts explaining the case as it developed. It has been the kind of document-rich situation that relied on the kind of reporting I do best. What a gift.
But now, with the trial set to start next week and last an estimated 6-8 months, my major role is over.
Here’s the thing. Although I love thinking about continuing my work by covering the trial, getting up daily (like the jurors and all the other court officials) and getting myself downtown to the federal court by 8 a.m. and hearing all the testimony and arguments as they are made, it’s not realistic. I’m too far down the “retired” path to commit to that kind of schedule. It sounds too much like work, and I haven’t wanted to hold down a regular job for a very long time.
So although I’ve written more about the case than anyone, I won’t be able to provide the same kind of coverage of the trial. For that, you’ll have to look elsewhere. Civil Beat has assigned a reporter, and I’ll contribute where I can. Hawaii News Now has followed the case over time, and I’m sure will report from the trial.
I also realized there’s a way in which all that I’ve written about the case, which has largely been based on documents that likely won’t be admissible at trial, could interfere with understanding how the case is unfolding in court, which rests solely on the evidence presented to the jury. That’s why jurors are told to avoid reading or watching any news about the case, and not to discuss it with others, even their families. At this point, the public probably most needs to know what the jury is hearing. That’s the evidence the jurors will base their decisions on. Other information, known and unknown, true or not, will be irrelevant to the outcome of the case and the verdicts handed down.
That’s what is needed to provide a fair trial.
But it also means that when the trial is over, we’ll have verdicts on each of the charges, but some of the most important systemic questions probably won’t be answered.
Were Miske’s affairs aided by disgraced former prosecutors Katherine Kealoha? Did Miske rely on police officers or other law enforcement personnel who took payoffs or fed inside information to him for other reasons? Did Miske have friends in politics that aided his ability to stay out of legal trouble? Was there someone, or multiple someones, “higher up” in the criminal world that Miske had to deal with? If Miske was able to buy high-paying jobs on Honolulu’s docks for his son and other associates, was he the only one with such access? And is that system still in place? And then there’s a different question we’ll have to reckon with–was it worth the cost? This federal investigation started in March 2014, almost ten years ago, and is likely still ongoing. Ten years of effort. Even just warehousing, organizing, and accessing the mountains of evidence in the case, more than 2 million pages of documents along with more than 80 Terabytes of digital data, must have involved substantial costs that continue each month. Then there are legal fees and court costs, on and on.
But you get the idea. Answers to these questions are likely irrelevant to proving or defending against the specific charges, so they are unlikely to be addressed in the course of the trial.
So there will be more opportunity when the trial is over, and the record is available, to jump back in and deal with the leftovers.
In the meantime, I’ll be like you, largely a spectator hoping that there’s enough news coverage to keep abreast of what’s happening in federal court.
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Many thanks, Ian, for your diligence.
Will sorely miss the thoughtful & diligent reporting on this case and appreciate the questions you pose. There’s enough fodder in them to feed any hungry reporter for years to come. Just knowing that the issues raised will come under scrutiny may motivate our public officials to elevate their level of ethical community commitment.
A thanks in advance to Civil Beat and its staff for covering the trial through its duration. Honolulu is fortunate to have the quality investigations your news provides. Mahalo & happy, healthy 2024.
Ian you reporting on this has been top notch, no one has even come close. Thank you very much for the work to date, we appreciate it greatly.
Ian you’ve been excellent covering this. Sorry to hear you won’t be covering the trial, but I understand your reasoning.
Do you plan to watch in person at all? Just for personal interest.
Yes, I hope to sit in on parts of the trial.
Thanks Ian. You have raised send the bar on this case. Question is there a way to know the calendar of events. In the trial. Opening statements prosecution. Defense. Closing statements etc. ??? So if you wanted to see particular portions… you would see a calendar as the trial progresses……
You have certainly done your due diligence and beyond, and the light of discovery shines much brighter today, because of your unfailing effort (in retirement), as an outstanding investigative journalist. We will all watch the trial with well-informed interest because of you. Mahalo nui Ian.
Thank you Ian. Every time that I went through my cluttered daily email inbox, I always was/am glad to see your posts on this upcoming trial (and all issues you cover!). Fascinating and relevant.
Is that u Iklink
Aloha Ian. One difference between us is that you track the details of some criminal investigations while I do not. One similarity is that both of us look deeply into historical, civil rights, and legal controversies; and we write about them fearlessly even when there might be reasons why we SHOULD fear some of the thugs on one side or the other who don’t like what we write. Bravery is not the same as fearlessness; bravery is doing a job or pursuing the truth despite danger and well-justified fear. You are a brave man. I wish you a happy, healthy, and productive new year. Imua!
Mahalo Nui Loa Ian for the countless hours and time spent keeping us (the public) informed about this case. Your hard work was and will always be appreciated! True investigative reporting, I already know that no one will come close to the quality of your news articles. Happy New Year!
IAN, please get out of bed and attend those early morning courtroom hearings and trials and cover them the way Dominick Dunne covered the OJ Simpson trial.
Who does Miske make stink-eye at?
What kind of body language does Jason Yokoyama, John Stancil, and Jacob Smith have?
And although you can’t name them, the reactions of jurors would be priceless!
No, say it ain’t so, don’t stop covering this case.
PS: but I completely understand your reasoning and thank you for all your hard work.
As usual, superior , in depth reporting on the Miske marathon of crime and punishment. And you are correct, the questions left unanswered as to the depth and extent of public corruption in our city and State are deeply troubling. The failure of local law enforcement to have significantly participated in the arrests and charges of any of the multiple alleged participants is perhaps the most alarming indication of the extent of the problem, highlighted by the imprisonment of our Chief of Police. While our police commission was handing out golden parachutes to corrupt police chief once again in required Federal authorities to step in and arrest and charge . Well done Ian. There is still much work to be done by both journalists and law enforcement to expose and prosecute public corruption in our community that is beginning to resemble Al Capone’s Chicago.
Thanks, Steve. But to be fair to HPD, documents that have been filed in court and become public indicate HPD officers often worked side by side with federal agents as members of joint task forces participating in the Miske investigations. However, neither HPD nor the city have the resources to support an investigation of this scope and duration. That’s not a criticism, it’s just a financial fact of local government.
Ian, will you be taking the deep dive on the Max Sword, Donna Leong, Kaneshiro & Co. drama that’ll be headed our way?
Those are trials coming up later this year in federal court. Perhaps a deeper dive is in order….
Ok. good to know. But as I recall well after Chief Kealoha had been served with a target letter by the US Attorney’s office that he was a subject of a criminal investigation by the Justice Department, the Honolulu Police Commission absent the objection of Loretta Sheehan, gave him a quarter million dollar golden parachute absent an explanation of the source of the funds.
Correct on that! And it’s approval of the golden parachute that has the former corporation counsel, former managing director, and former police commission chair facing a criminal trial.
Well as Forest Gump would surely observe, just goes to shows ya, public employees who lie, cheat and steal together tend to stay together….
“Were Miske’s affairs aided by disgraced former prosecutors Katherine Kealoha? Did Miske rely on police officers or other law enforcement personnel who took payoffs or fed inside information to him for other reasons? Did Miske have friends in politics that aided his ability to stay out of legal trouble? Was there someone, or multiple someones, “higher up” in the criminal world that Miske had to deal with? If Miske was able to buy high-paying jobs on Honolulu’s docks for his son and other associates, was he the only one with such access? And is that system still in place?”
Interesting stuff to mull on, indeed!
You are a community leader in the field of investigative journalism. I hope future reporters continue with the same dedication and diligence as you. Technology changes but it will always take a reporter with great instincts to follow a path to the truth. It is hard to hide the truth in the complexity of human interaction. If we all keep digging deep enough, we get there. Your attention to your craft isn’t complicated but it is hard work.
Your analysis of the Miske data that you’ve so far acquired has been nothing short of amazing.
With the amount of data coming out on a daily basis during trial, you (or anyone) would be overwhelmed if it were approached with the same attention to detail that you’ve already put into the case.
Well done!