WHITEWATER prosecutor Kenneth Starr's investigation of the White House and state Attorney General Margery Bronster's investigation of Bishop Estate continue to have eerie similarities. Bronster is becoming
a real StarrIt's not just the strange personal alliances, attempted press manipulation by spin doctors and allegations that powerful people have violated the public trust. Now we have allegations that Bishop Estate trustee Henry Peters intentionally withheld information subpoenaed by the attorney general.
As in the Monica Lewinsky affair, Peters may discover that trying to cover up stupid mistakes is more serious than the mistakes themselves.
The trustees' stupid mistake was to allow former legislator and current Estate employee Milton Holt to run up charges on Estate credit cards at local hostess bars and Las Vegas casinos.
That was dumb. But it was probably part of a pattern of business that has developed at the Estate over the years. And not just at the Estate. Lobbyists have been known to leave credit cards at local knee-rubbing drinking establishments for use by certain public officials.
You have to understand, all the seedy behavior that was probably happening in state government has been incorporated into the operation of Bishop Estate: the back-room deals, the non-bid contracts, the lack of public accountability. Particularly the lack of public accountability. At least the government had a semblance of open meetings and public access to documents.
Bishop Estate has enjoyed a virtual blackout of public scrutiny, other than the phony-baloney yearly "master's reports" and the largely theoretical oversight by the A.G. Life was good for those inside the Bishop Estate ohana. At least until some high-profile community personalities and the current attorney general started knocking on doors.
Then the subpoenas started flying and some trustees made a tactical mistake. Peters allegedly ordered documents related to Holt's use of Estate credit cards withheld from Bronster. While that might have been done with impunity during the good ol' days when the Estate enjoyed the support and protection of the Legislature, courts, governor and attorney general, in the real legal world it's a definite no-no. It's the kind of no-no that has sent people to jail. Withholding legally subpoenaed evidence from a legitimate government investigation goes by the rather imposing term "obstruction of justice."
Obstruction of justice can be all kinds of things. Like, if one of the people under investigation, say, trustee Lokelani Lindsey, told everyone that Holt had personally paid back all the charges he ran up on the Estate credit card when the Estate actually footed the bill. The fact that the Estate gave Holt a financial "bonus" that specifically went to cover the exotic entertainment expenses is simply a shell game. Estate money paid for Holt's Las Vegas fun and games while the Estate was closing down educational programs for alleged lack of funds.
Lindsey's mangled attempt at managing the crisis took on comic overtones when her personal spokesman told one reporter he wouldn't talk to him anymore because he didn't think Lindsey was getting fair coverage. Please. Ms. Lindsey, if you are going to pay spokesmen not to speak, hire me. I can say "no comment" as easy as the next guy. And I won't charge as much.
The question is: When is the attorney general going to bring her investigation to a head? Like Ken Starr, by dragging out this inquiry, she leaves herself open to criticism that she has become an overzealous, obsessive, grand inquisitor. Whatever you do, Margery, DO NOT, repeat, DO NOT, subpoena anyone's mother to testify.
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