Both senators likely to back Kubo for U.S. attorney
By Susan Roth
Advertiser Washington Bureau
WASHINGTON — Both Hawai'i's senators expect to back the nomination of Honolulu attorney Ed Kubo Jr. as U.S. attorney for Hawai'i.
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They had been awaiting the recommendation of the Hawai'i State Bar Association, which has rated Kubo "highly qualified."
Ed Kubo Jr., a career prosecutor, has been assistant U.S. attorney since 1990.
Both senators must sign off for Kubo's nomination to advance in the Senate Judiciary Committee, which would then schedule a confirmation hearing. The nomination turns on approval by the panel and full Senate.
Sen. Dan Inouye said Tuesday he was withholding approval until he read the FBI report on Kubo, but he expected to support the nomination.
Sen. Daniel Akaka met with Kubo and "found him to be a very nice individual," said spokesman Paul Cardus. "The senator ... sees no problem with voting for him, but he wants to consult with Sen. Inouye first," Cardus said.
The senators, both Democrats, continue to hold up the nomination of Honolulu attorney Richard Clifton, counsel to the Hawai'i Republican Party, to the 9th U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals. They object to not being consulted by the administration before Clifton was nominated.
President Bush nominated Kubo, 47, in early September. A career prosecutor who has served as an assistant U.S. attorney since 1990, he was backed by state Rep. Barbara Marumoto, R-17th (Kahala, Wai'alae Iki), who ran the Bush campaign in Hawai'i.
Unknown outside Hawai'i legal circles, Kubo has handled high-profile cases involving crackdowns on massage parlors, cockfighting and crystal methamphetamine labs, as well as murder. He was a deputy Honolulu city prosecuting attorney from 1980-90.
