Harris and his campaign may face criminal probe

By Johnny Brannon
Advertiser Staff Writer

Mayor Jeremy Harris and his 2000 re-election campaign violated state law by intentionally attributing donations to people who never made them, according to a complaint that the state Campaign Spending Commission is considering recommending for criminal prosecution.

The Jeremy Harris campaign says the evidence is vague. Advertiser library photo • Aug. 28, 2001

The commission recently leveled seven fines against Harris supporters for giving his campaign more than the $4,000-per-donor limit, but until now had not accused the mayor himself of wrongdoing.

Even without evidence of Harris' involvement, a criminal investigation by the city prosecutor would be politically damaging to his campaign for governor.

The current complaint, brought this month by commission Executive Director Robert Watada, charges that Harris and the others circumvented campaign donation limits and "knowingly and intentionally attributed contributions to individuals other than the true contributor," and that they "knowingly and intentionally failed to consider and report contributions received from the true contributor."

People listed by the campaign as contributors told investigators for the Campaign Spending Commission that they had never made such donations, and others said they had given money to others to donate for them, according to a summary of the probe by Watada.

State law prohibits supporters from making campaign contributions under a false name or making them anonymously.

In a lengthy letter to the commission, Harris attorney William McCorriston likened Watada's investigation to a politically motivated "McCarthy-era" witch-hunt and insisted his conclusions are baseless.

"Before the commission takes the drastic step of impugning the reputations of four people, by expressing its belief that the individuals have committed crimes — when the charging document contains not a scintilla of evidence against any of the four — the commission should step back, and decide whether or not there is a runaway effort, led by its executive director, to subvert justice and fairness," McCorriston wrote.

The complaint, which was given to the Harris campaign last week, does not name the alleged contributors or say how much money was involved.

Commission attorney Jon Itomura said the complaint was intentionally kept vague in order to protect witnesses, and because the city prosecutor is the one with authority to investigate criminal matters.

"We felt that we may be interfering with potential witnesses if we named names," Itomura said. "The complaint is saying we think there's smoke here, but we don't want to look for the fire because we don't have jurisdiction."

The law allows the five-member commission to refer a case to the prosector if "at any time it believes that the person cited may have intentionally, knowingly, or recklessly committed a violation." Anyone convicted of such a violation, a misdemeanor, is barred from holding public office for four years.

McCorriston contends the panel must have some specific evidence to evaluate when making its decision.

"There is nothing in the statute which suggests that the commission can make such a referral based on nothing ... ," he wrote in his letter. "There is no place for personal vendettas to influence the upcoming gubernatorial race, and potentially impact forever the lives of four innocent individuals."

Harris, a Democrat, has long alleged that Watada's investigation of his campaign activities was a politically motivated attack, and his campaign committee has filed an ethics complaint against Watada for discussing his probe and suspicions with reporters.

Brodie, the campaign chairman, blasted the allegations against him and the others and called for Watada's dismissal.

"I am angry that he would use me for his own political agenda, and think he should be removed from office because he has no ethics, and is doing the public a great disservice," Brodie, a member of the state Board of Education, said in a written statement.

Watada could not be reached for comment yesterday. He has dismissed such complaints by the Harris camp as attempts to intimidate the commission, and said he is merely carrying out his duty to look for campaign finance violations and keep the public informed.

The five-member commission will meet at 3 p.m. to decide whether to refer the complaint to the city prosecutor's office. They will meet on the third floor of the Leiopapa a Kamehameha Building at 235 S. Beretania St.

Reach Johnny Brannon at jbrannon@honoluluadvertiser.com or 525-8070.