1 letter Maui County states Kawano referred the three plaintiffs – Ronda Smythe, Liana Kanno and Alisha Constantino – to Green, then worked with Green to report the stories. 1 letter filed among court documents, is that Kawano crossed a line from being a reporter to “functioning as an advisor to plaintiffs.” Among other items being sought to show this: a purported “referral agreement” between Kawano and Honolulu trial lawyer Michael Green, who is representing the women in the case against the county and its disgraced former officer. The crux of the county’s argument, laid out in a Nov. Maui County attorneys suspect Honolulu attorney Michael Green, who is suing the county on behalf of several women, may have some sort of inappropriate agreement with Hawaii News Now reporter Lynn Kawano. Maui Corporation Counsel Moana Lutey and Deputy Corporation Counsels Keola Whittaker and Richelle Kawasaki have demanded Hawaii News Now’s chief investigative reporter Lynn Kawano appear for a deposition and turn over a variety of records related to the case. Meanwhile, Saffeels and his employer, Maui County, face a separate federal civil lawsuit from three women who say Saffeels used his power as an officer to try to coerce them into having sex with him.īut, in an unusual twist that raises questions about a journalist’s fundamental right to report the news without government interference, the County of Maui is seeking to subpoena testimony and records from a reporter who has covered the Saffeels case including the civil case.

Former Maui Police Department Officer Brandon Saffeels was sentenced to 10 years in prison earlier this month after pleading guilty to a federal charge of attempting to have sexual contact with a someone he thought was a 13-year-old girl.

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