Grand jury set to convene in probe of Harris donors

By Johnny Brannon
Advertiser Staff Writer

Barring any last-minute deals, city prosecutors are scheduled to convene a grand jury today and question witnesses about campaign contributions to Mayor Jeremy Harris.

It is the third time in nine months that witnesses have been subpoenaed to testify about the mayor's campaign finances or the awarding of city design and construction contracts.

But the target of today's proceedings is not expected to be a city contractor, an indication that the lengthy investigation's focus has shifted to others who make political donations and interact with city government.

Last November, the head of a major Honolulu engineering firm struck an agreement with prosecutors just hours before they were to seek his indictment for illegal donations to Harris.

SSFM International president Michael Matsumoto later pleaded no contest to felony money laundering and misdemeanor campaign finance charges.

And last August, an investigative grand jury heard testimony from top city contracting and construction officials and from people involved in Harris' campaign.

Investigators have questioned for more than 16 months whether any city contracts were illegally awarded in exchange for campaign cash.

But no one has been charged with such activities, and Harris insists that city contracting is free of corruption.

"It's clear after 16 months that they have developed no evidence of a linkage between campaign contributions and contracts, and if they go another 16 months the same thing will be true," said Harris' attorney, William McCorriston.

Prosecutors have subpoenaed financial documents and other records from hundreds of potential witnesses, and say it is time-consuming to sift through the voluminous material and detect questionable activities.

The probe began in January 2002, after the state Campaign Spending Commission found what investigators suspected was evidence that Harris' campaign committee intentionally hid the source of some money.

Dozens of companies and people were later fined for making improper campaign donations, mostly to Harris.

But neither Harris nor his campaign officials have been charged with wrongdoing since then, and Harris has called the probe a smear meant to end his political career.

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