Today, September 23, 2024, Dr. Keanu Sai, as Head of the Royal Commission of Inquiry, sent a letter to Lieutenant Colonel Michael Rosner regarding the a formal request by Senator Cross Makani Crabbe for a legal opinion from the Attorney General regarding the legal standing of the State of Hawai‘i in light of the continued existence of the Hawaiian Kingdom as an occupied State under international law. Consequently, this alleviates LTC Rosner from requesting a legal opinion by 12 noon today, as stated in the Royal Commission of Inquiry’s letter to him dated September 16, 2024. LTC Rosner is, however, responsible for establishing a military government unless the Attorney General concludes in her legal opinion that the Hawaiian Kingdom does not exist as an occupied State.. Here is a link to the letter.

The purpose of this letter is to notify you that this past Thursday, September 19, 2024, Senator Cross Makani Crabbe, who represents District 22 on the west side of O‘ahu, submitted a formal request, pursuant to §28-3 Hawai‘i Revised Statutes, to Attorney General Anne Lopez for a legal opinion regarding the continued existence of the Hawaiian Kingdom as an occupied State, which I am enclosing. Consequently, this alleviates you from requesting a legal opinion by 12 noon on September 23, 2024, as stated in my letter to you dated September 16, 2024.

However, should Attorney General Lopez fail to show that the Hawaiian Kingdom had been extinguished by the United States under international law, you have the duty and obligation to transform the State of Hawai‘i into a military government. Your duty and obligation is in accordance with Department of Defense Directive 5100.01, FM 27-5, FM 27-10, and the Council of Regency’s Operational Plan for Transitioning the State of Hawai‘i into a Military Government. The 322nd Civil Affairs Brigade at Fort Shafter Flats advises commanders on military government.

It has been twenty-five years, on November 8, 1999, since the international arbitral proceedings at the Permanent Court of Arbitration (“PCA”) were initiated, in Larsen v. Hawaiian Kingdom. The subject of this arbitral dispute was the first allegation of the war crime of usurpation of sovereignty during military occupation. The claimant, Lance Larsen, alleged that the Hawaiian Kingdom, by its Council of Regency, was legally liable “for allowing the unlawful imposition of American municipal laws” over him within Hawaiian territory. This led to the war crimes of unfair trial and unlawful confinement by the District Court of the Third Circuit in Kea‘au.

Before the arbitral tribunal was established on June 9, 2000, the PCA Secretary General recognized, as a matter of institutional jurisdiction, the continued existence of the Hawaiian Kingdom as a non-Contracting State pursuant to Article 47 of the 1907 Hague Convention, I, for the Pacific Settlement of International Disputes. Article 47 states, “[t]he jurisdiction of the Permanent Court, may within the conditions laid down in the regulations, be extended to disputes between non-Contracting [States] or between Contracting [States] and non-Contracting [States], if the parties are agreed on recourse to this Tribunal.” This brought the dispute under the auspices of the PCA. The PCA Secretary General also recognized the Council of Regency as the Hawaiian Kingdom government. The Council of Regency did not claim to be the government of a new State but rather the legal personality of the continued existence of the Hawaiian Kingdom since the nineteenth century.

The issue of the continuity of the Hawaiian Kingdom, as a State under international law, is not a novel legal issue for the State of Hawai‘i to determine. Since 1994, this issue has been at the center of case law and precedence, regarding jurisdictional arguments that came before the courts of the State of Hawai‘i. One year after the United States Congress passed the 1993 joint resolution, apologizing for the United States overthrow of the Hawaiian Kingdom government, the State of Hawai‘i Intermediate Court of Appeals heard an appeal in 1994 that centered on a claim that the Hawaiian Kingdom continued to exist as a country despite the unlawful overthrow of its government. In State of Hawai‘i v. Lorenzo, the appellate court stated:

Lorenzo appeals, arguing that the lower court erred in denying his pretrial motion (Motion) to dismiss the indictment. The essence of the Motion is that the [Hawaiian Kingdom] (Kingdom) was recognized as an independent sovereign nation by the United States in numerous bilateral treaties; the Kingdom was illegally overthrown in 1893 with the assistance of the United States; the Kingdom still exists as a sovereign nation; he is a citizen of the Kingdom; therefore, the courts of the State of Hawai‘i have no jurisdiction over him. Lorenzo makes the same argument on appeal. For the reasons set forth below, we conclude that the lower court correctly denied the Motion.

The appellate court affirmed the trial court’s judgment, but it admitted “the court’s rationale is open to question in light of international law.” By not applying international law, the appellate court concluded that the trial court’s decision was correct because Lorenzo “presented no factual (or legal) basis for concluding that the Kingdom exists as a state in accordance with recognized attributes of a state’s sovereign nature.”

Since 1994, Lorenzo has become the precedent case for denying defendants’ motions to dismiss claims that the Hawaiian Kingdom continues to exist. When the appellate court placed the burden on defendants to provide a ‘factual (or legal) basis for concluding that the Kingdom exists as a state in accordance with recognized attributes of a state’s sovereign nature,’ it would require the application of international law, not the municipal law or common law of the United States and/or the State of Hawai‘i, for the defense to meet that burden.

The Supreme Court, in State of Hawai‘i v. Armitage, clarified the evidentiary burden that Lorenzo placed upon defendants. The court stated:

Lorenzo held that, for jurisdictional purposes, should a defendant demonstrate a factual or legal basis that the Kingdom of Hawai‘i “exists as a state in accordance with recognized attributes of a state’s sovereign nature[,]” and that he or she is a citizen of that sovereign state, a defendant may be able to argue that the courts of the State of Hawai‘i lack jurisdiction over him or her.

Senator Crabbe’s letter included two legal opinions, published by the Hawaiian Journal of Law and Politics, by experts in international law, that provide a legal basis for concluding that the Hawaiian Kingdom ‘exists as a state in accordance with recognized attributes of a state’s sovereign nature,’ as called for by the State of Hawai‘i Intermediate Court of Appeals and the Supreme Court. These legal opinions were authored by two professors of international law, Matthew Craven, from the University of London, SOAS, Department of Law, and Federico Lenzerini, from the University of Siena, Department of Political and International Sciences. I am also enclosing my latest law article on the responsibility to protect a State’s population from war crimes that was published this year by the International Review of Contemporary Law.

Hawai‘i Revised Statutes §28-3 states: “[t]he attorney general shall, when requested, give opinions upon questions of law submitted by the governor, the legislature, or its members, or the head of any department (emphasis added).” The legal definition of shall “is an imperative command, usually indicating that certain actions are mandatory, and not permissive. This contrasts with the word ‘may,’ which is generally used to indicate a permissive provision, ordinarily implying some degree of discretion.” In his letter, Senator Crabbe presented the Attorney General with his question for her legal opinion:

Considering the two legal opinions by Professor Craven and Professor Lenzerini, that conclude the Hawaiian Kingdom continues to exist as a State under international law, which are enclosed with this request, is the State of Hawai‘i within the territory of the United States or is it within the territory of the Hawaiian Kingdom?

Under international law, there is a presumption of continuity of the Hawaiian State despite the overthrow of its government by the United States on January 17, 1893. According to Judge James Crawford, International Court of Justice, there “is a presumption that the State continues to exist, with its rights and obligations […] despite a period in which there is no, or no effective, government,” and belligerent occupation “does not affect the continuity of the State, even where there exists no government claiming to represent the occupied State.” Presumption is defined as an act or instance of taking something to be true. As a matter of law, in the absence of acceptable reasons to the contrary, presumption is an attitude adopted in law toward an action or proposal.

The presumption of State continuity shifts the burden of proof as to what is to be proven and by whom. Like the presumption of innocence, the accused does not prove their innocence, but rather the prosecution must prove, beyond a reasonable doubt, that person’s guilt. Beyond a reasonable doubt is evidence so convincing that no reasonable person would have any doubts as to the person’s guilt. Matthew Craven, professor of international law, explains:

If one were to speak about a presumption of continuity, one would suppose that an obligation would lie upon the party opposing that continuity to establish the facts substantiating its rebuttal. The continuity of the Hawaiian Kingdom, in other words, may be refuted only by reference to a valid demonstration of legal title, or sovereignty, on the part of the United States, absent of which the presumption remains.

In other words, the Attorney General’s legal opinion would not prove the State of Hawai‘i lawfully exists, but rather, it must prove beyond any reasonable doubt, that the Hawaiian Kingdom does not exists, as a State, under the rules of international law, and that the State of Hawai‘i is within the territory of the United States. Evidence of ‘a valid demonstration of legal title, or sovereignty, on the part of the United States’ would be an international treaty, particularly a peace treaty, whereby the Hawaiian Kingdom would have ceded its territory and sovereignty to the United States. Examples of foreign States ceding sovereign territory to the United States by a peace treaty include the 1848 Treaty of Peace, Friendship, Limits, and Settlement with the Republic of Mexico and the 1898 Treaty of Peace between the United States of America and the Kingdom of Spain.

In her legal opinion, to answer, in the affirmative, that the State of Hawai‘i is within the territory of the United States, the Attorney General must refer to a ‘valid demonstration of legal title, or sovereignty, on the part of the United States.’ Otherwise, the Hawaiian Kingdom continues to exist as a State under international law, which triggers your duty and obligation to establish a military government. For her to claim that the question of law raises a political question and, therefore, she cannot answer the question, is an admission to the Hawaiian Kingdom’s presumed existence since the nineteenth century. The political question doctrine refers to federal courts and their inability to adjudicate disputes that have been submitted to the courts for adjudication. According to the U.S. Supreme Court:

For purposes of Article III of the Constitution, “no justiciable ‘controversy’ exists when parties seek adjudication of a political question.” But the term “political question” is a legal term of art that on its face gives little indication of what sorts of cases the doctrine bars federal courts from deciding.

Furthermore, the Hawai‘i Supreme Court, in State of Hawai‘i v. Armitage, precludes the Attorney General from not answering the question if it was previously demonstrated, by the two legal opinions, that “a factual or legal basis that the Kingdom of Hawai‘i ‘exists as a state in accordance with recognized attributes of a state’s sovereign nature.’” According to State of Hawai‘i v. Lorenzo, she would have to provide rebuttable evidence that counters the conclusions of the two legal opinions, otherwise the presumption of the Hawaiian Kingdom’s existence, as a State, remains. Therefore, all acts taken by the United States within the territory of the Hawaiian Kingdom, to include the creation of the State of Hawai‘i by a congressional act, is void. According to the Permanent Court of International Justice, in the Lotus case (France v. Turkey):

Now the first and foremost restriction imposed by international law upon a State is that—failing the existence of a permissive rule to the contrary—it may not exercise its power in any form in the territory of another State. In this sense jurisdiction is certainly territorial; it cannot be exercised by a State outside its territory except by virtue of a permissive rule derived from international custom or from a convention.

Therefore, the United States cannot ‘exercise its power in any form in the territory of another State,’ such as the Hawaiian Kingdom, because it already has international treaties with. The United States needs a treaty of cession with the Hawaiian Kingdom before it can exercise any power within the latter’s territory. Consequently, the State of Hawai‘i has no legal standing within the territory of the Hawaiian Kingdom, and thus, actions or conduct, taken by members of the State of Hawai‘i and or its Counties, could be construed as war crimes. I am enclosing Professor William Schabas’ legal opinion on war crimes currently being committed in the Hawaiian Kingdom.

Since 2020, the Royal Commission of Inquiry has published, on its website (https://hawaiiankingdom.org/royal-commission.shtml), the following reports and memorandums:

Preliminary Report re Mens Rea (March 24, 2020)

Preliminary Report re Authority of the Council of Regency (May 27, 2020)

Preliminary Report re Legal Status of Land Titles throughout the Realm (July 16, 2020)

Supplemental Report re Title Insurance (October 28, 2020)

Preliminary Report re Explicit Recognition of the Hawaiian State and of the Council of Regency as its Government by the United States of America (April 2, 2021)

Preliminary Report re War Crimes of Transferring Populations in an Occupied Territory and Denationalization (September 30, 2021)

Preliminary Report re The Right of Self-Determination of the Hawaiian People in a State of War (October 23, 2021)

Preliminary Report re The Lorenzo doctrine on the Continuity of the Hawaiian Kingdom as a State (June 7, 2022)

Preliminary Report re Attainder of Treason and the Corruption of Blood (October 26, 2022)

Preliminary Report re Termination of the 1875 Commercial Reciprocity Treaty and its 1884 Supplemental Convention (October 26, 2023)

Criminal Report no. 22-0001 re Insurgency of 1893 and Attainder of Treason (November 4, 2022)

War Criminal Report no. 22-0002 re Usurpation of Sovereignty during Military Occupation—Derek Kawakami & Arryl Kaneshiro (November 17, 2022)

War Criminal Report no. 22-0002-1 re Accomplice to Usurpation of Sovereignty during Military Occupation—Matthew M. Bracken & Mark L. Bradbury (November 20, 2022)

War Criminal Report no. 22-0003 re Usurpation of Sovereignty during Military Occupation—Mitchell Roth & Maile David (November 17, 2022)

War Criminal Report no. 22-0003-1 re Accomplice to Usurpation of Sovereignty during Military Occupation—Elizabeth A. Strance, Mark D. Disher & Dakota K. Frenz (November 20, 2022)

War Criminal Report no. 22-0004 re Usurpation of Sovereignty during Military Occupation—Michael Victorino & Alice L. Lee (November 17, 2022)

War Criminal Report no. 22-0004-1 re Accomplice to Usurpation of Sovereignty during Military Occupation—Moana M. Lutey, Caleb P. Rowe & Iwalani Mountcastle Gasmen (November 20, 2022)

War Criminal Report no. 22-0005 re Usurpation of Sovereignty during Military Occupation—David Yutake Ige, Ty Nohara, & Isaac W. Choy (November 18, 2022)

War Criminal Report no. 22-0005-1 re Accomplice to Usurpation of Sovereignty during Military Occupation—Holly T. Shikada & Amanda J. Weston (November 20, 2022)

War Criminal Report no. 22-0006 re Usurpation of Sovereignty during Military Occupation—Anders G.O. Nervell (November 18, 2022)

War Criminal Report no. 22-0006-1 re Accomplice to Usurpation of Sovereignty during Military Occupation—Scott I. Batterman (November 20, 2022)

War Criminal Report no. 22-0007 re Usurpation of Sovereignty during Military Occupation—Joseph Robinette Biden Jr., Kamala Harris, Admiral John Aquilino, Charles P. Rettig, Charles E. Schumer, & Nancy Pelosi (November 18, 2022)

Amended War Criminal Report no. 22-0007—a Withdrawal of Admiral John Aquilino (February 23, 2024)

War Criminal Report no. 22-0007-1 re Accomplice to Usurpation of Sovereignty during Military Occupation—Brian M. Boynton, Anthony J. Coppolino & Michael J. Gerardi (November 20, 2022)

War Criminal Report no. 22-0008 re Usurpation of Sovereignty during Military Occupation & Deprivation of Fair and Regular Trial—Leslie E. Kobayashi & Rom A. Trader (November 23, 2022)

War Criminal Report no. 22-0009 re Usurpation of Sovereignty during Military Occupation, Deprivation of Fair and Regular Trial, & Pillage—Mark E. Recktenwald, Paula A. Nakayama, Sabrina S. McKenna, Richard W. Pollack, Michael D. Wilson, Todd W. Eddins, Glenn S. Hara, Greg K. Nakamura, Charles Prather, Sofia M. Hirosane, Daryl Y. Dobayashi, James E. Evers, Josiah K. Sewell, Clifford L. Nakea, Bradley R. Tamm, and Alana L. Bryant (December 28, 2022)

War Criminal Report no. 22-0009-1 re Usurpation of Sovereignty during Military Occupation, Deprivation of Fair & Regular Trial—Derrick K. Watson, J. Michael Seabright, Leslie E. Kobayashi and Jill A. Otake (February 28, 2023)

War Criminal Report no. 23-0001 re Usurpation of Sovereignty during Military Occupation—Anne E. Lopez, Craig Y. Iha, Ryan K.P. Kanaka‘ole, Alyssa-Marie Y. Kau, Peter Kahana Albinio, Jr., and Joseph Kuali‘i Lindsey Camara (March 29, 2023)

War Criminal Report no. 24-0001 re Omission for willful failure to establish a military government—Kenneth Hara (August 5, 2024)

War Criminal Report no. 24-0002 re Omission for willful failure to establish a military government—Stephen F. Logan (August 12, 2024)

War Criminal Report no. 24-0003 re Omission for willful failure to establish a military government—Wesley Kawakami (August 19, 2024)

War Criminal Report no. 24-0004 re Omission for willful failure to establish a military government—Fredrick Werner (August 26, 2024)

War Criminal Report no. 24-0005 re Omission for willful failure to establish a military government—Bingham Tuisamatatele, Jr. (September 2, 2024)

War Criminal Report no. 24-0006 re Omission for willful failure to establish a military government—Joshua Jacobs (September 9, 2024)

War Criminal Report no. 24-0007 re Omission for willful failure to establish a military government—Dale Balsis (September 16, 2024)

Memorandum regarding the Hawaiian Kingdom’s continuity as a State and subject of International Law (August 29, 2023)

Memorandum on why all 193 Member States of the United Nations recognize the Continuity of the Hawaiian Kingdom and the Council of Regency (December 22, 2023)

Memorandum on Bringing the American Occupation of Hawai`i to an End by Establishing an American Military Government (June 22, 2024)

In order to understand the gravity and severity of the situation, I recommend that you view a presentation that I was invited to give to the Maui County Council’s Disaster, Resilience, International Affairs, and Planning (DRIP) Committee on March 6, 2024 (online at https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=X-VIA_3GD2A). To further understand the situation, I recommend that you also view two recent podcasts of Keep it Aloha with Kamaka Dias, which has collectively garnered over 22k views since August 1, 2024 (Part 1—online at https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=PvEdNx2dynE&t=6043s), (Part 2—online at https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=YBSFZQdC5bU&t=8466s).

Unless the Attorney General can provide you a legal opinion that concludes the Hawaiian Kingdom does not exist ‘as a state in accordance with recognized attributes of a state’s sovereign nature,’ you should begin to prepare for your role as military governor and transition the State of Hawai‘i into a military government according to the Council of Regency’s Operational Plan with essential and implied tasks. You should also begin to reach out to the 322nd Civil Affairs Brigade at Fort Shafter Flats.

Today, September 16, 2024, Dr. Keanu Sai, as Head of the Royal Commission of Inquiry, sent a letter to Lieutenant Colonel Michael Rosner regarding the publishing of War Criminal Report no. 24-0007 on Lieutenant Colonel Balsis’ war crime by omission. The RCI also informed him that he has until 12 noon on September 23, 2024, to perform his military duty of establishing a military government of Hawai‘i. Here is a link to the letter.

Today, September 16, 2024, the Royal Commission of Inquiry (“RCI”) published its War Criminal Report no. 24-0007 finding Lieutenant Colonel Dale R. Balsis guilty of the war crime by omission. LTC Balsis willfully disobeyed an Army regulation and was willfully derelict in his duty to establish a military government. Therefore, his conduct, by omission, constitutes a war crime. LTC Balsis, in his official capacity as a senior member of the State of Hawai‘i Department of Defense, has met the requisite elements for the war crime by omission, by willfully disobeying an Army regulation and by willful dereliction in his duty to establish a military government, and is, therefore, guilty of the war crime by omission. These offenses do not have the requisite element of mens rea.

The term “guilty,” as used in the RCI war criminal reports, is defined as “[h]aving committed a crime or other breach of conduct; justly chargeable offense; responsible for a crime or tort or other offense or fault.” It is distinguished from a criminal prosecution where “guilty” is used by “an accused in pleading or otherwise answering to an indictment when he confesses to have committed the crime of which he is charged, and by the jury in convicting a person on trial for a particular crime.” According to U.S. military law, LTC Balsis is accountable by court-martial or nonjudicial punishment under Article 15, UCMJ. Under international criminal law, LTC Balsis is subject to prosecution, by a competent court or tribunal, for the war crime by omission.

Consequently, as the Executive Officer of the 29th Infantry Brigade, you are now the theater commander. You should assume the chain of command, as the theater commander of the occupied State of Hawaiian Kingdom and perform your duty of establishing a military government by 12 noon on September 23, 2024. In my letter to LTC Balsis, dated September 9, 2024, I recommended that he submit a formal request to Major General Hara, as head of the Department of Defense, to request that the Attorney General, Anne Lopez, according to Hawai‘i Revised Statutes §28-3, provide a legal opinion that refutes the legal opinions of Profession William Schabas and Professor Federico Lenzerini that the Hawaiian Kingdom continues to exist as a State under international law. It is a request as to a question of law, which the Attorney General is bound to answer, but a request from the head of the Department of Defense is required under §28-3.

It would appear that LTC Balsis did not do so, which led to the publishing of War Criminal Report no. 24-0007. For you to not perform this military duty of establishing a military government of Hawai‘i, you will need a legal opinion from the Attorney General concluding that the State of Hawai‘i exists within the territory of the United States, and not within the territory of the Hawaiian Kingdom. I am attaching a sample letter from you to Major General Hara requesting of the Attorney General for a legal opinion according to §28-3.

If you make this request to MG Hara prior to 12 noon on September 23, 2024, then you will not be derelict in your military duty, because the Royal Commission of Inquiry will then give time for MG Hara to make a formal request for a legal opinion from the Attorney General and give time for the legal opinion to be completed.

If you are derelict in the performance of your duty to establish a military government, then you would be the subject of an RCI war criminal report for the war crime by omission. The sequence of events will then loop to the Executive Officers. First, with the 1st Squadron, 299th Cavalry Regiment, second, with the 1st Battalion, 487th Field Artillery Regiment, third with the 29th Brigade Support Battalion, and fourth with the 227th Brigade Engineer Battalion.

This looping, within the 29th Infantry Brigade’s component commands, will cover all commissioned officers to include Majors, Captains, First Lieutenants and Second Lieutenants. After the commissioned officers have been exhausted in the 29th Infantry Brigade, the chain of command of commissioned officers of the 103rd Troop Command and its component commands will begin, followed by the chain of command of commissioned officers of the 298th Regiment, Regional Training Institute, and its component commands.

This looping, within the 29th Infantry Brigade’s component commands, will cover all commissioned officers to include Majors, Captains, First Lieutenants and Second Lieutenants. After the commissioned officers have been exhausted in the 29th Infantry Brigade, the chain of command of commissioned officers of the 103rd Troop Command and its component commands will begin, followed by the chain of command of commissioned officers of the 298th Regiment, Regional Training Institute, and its component commands. As you are aware, U.S. military officers are held to the highest personal and professional standards. When those standards are not met, officers may be administratively punished or criminally prosecuted. For you not to demand from the Attorney General for a legal opinion that the Hawaiian Kingdom no longer exists under international law, is to place the men and women, under your command, into harm’s way with criminal culpability under both military law and international criminal law. To ignore this will have dire consequences for the Hawai‘i Army National Guard.

Today, September 9, 2024, Dr. Keanu Sai, as Head of the Royal Commission of Inquiry, sent a letter to Lieutenant Colonel Dale Balsis regarding the publishing of War Criminal Report no. 24-0006 on Lieutenant Colonel Jacobs’ war crime by omission. The RCI also informed him that he has until 12 noon on September 16, 2024, to perform his military duty of establishing a military government of Hawai‘i. Here is a link to the letter.

Today, September 9, 2024, the Royal Commission of Inquiry (“RCI”) published its War Criminal Report no. 24-0006 finding Lieutenant Colonel Joshua A. Jacobs guilty of the war crime by omission. LTC Jacobs willfully disobeyed an Army regulation and was willfully derelict in his duty to establish a military government. Therefore, his conduct, by omission, constitutes a war crime. LTC Jacobs, in his official capacity as a senior member of the State of Hawai‘i Department of Defense, has met the requisite elements for the war crime by omission, by willfully disobeying an Army regulation and by willful dereliction in his duty to establish a military government, and is, therefore, guilty of the war crime by omission. These offenses do not have the requisite element of mens rea.

The term “guilty,” as used in the RCI war criminal reports, is defined as “[h]aving committed a crime or other breach of conduct; justly chargeable offense; responsible for a crime or tort or other offense or fault.” It is distinguished from a criminal prosecution where “guilty” is used by “an accused in pleading or otherwise answering to an indictment when he confesses to have committed the crime of which he is charged, and by the jury in convicting a person on trial for a particular crime.” According to U.S. military law, LTC Jacobs is accountable by court-martial or nonjudicial punishment under Article 15, UCMJ. Under international criminal law, LTC Jacobs is subject to prosecution, by a competent court or tribunal, for the war crime by omission.

Consequently, as the Commander of 227th Brigade Engineer Battalion, you are now the theater commander. You should assume the chain of command, as the theater commander of the occupied State of Hawaiian Kingdom and perform your duty of establishing a military government by 12 noon on September 16, 2024. In my letter to LTC Jacobs, dated September 2, 2024, I recommended that he submit a formal request to Major General Hara, as head of the Department of Defense, to request that the Attorney General, Anne Lopez, according to Hawai‘i Revised Statutes §28-3, provide a legal opinion that refutes the legal opinions of Profession William Schabas and Professor Federico Lenzerini that the Hawaiian Kingdom continues to exist as a State under international law. It is a request as to a question of law, which the Attorney General is bound to answer, but a request from the head of the Department of Defense is required under §28-3.

It would appear that LTC Jacobs did not do so, which led to the publishing of War Criminal Report no. 24-0006. For you to not perform this military duty of establishing a military government of Hawai‘i, you will need a legal opinion from the Attorney General concluding that the State of Hawai‘i exists within the territory of the United States, and not within the territory of the Hawaiian Kingdom. I am attaching a sample letter from you to Major General Hara requesting of the Attorney General for a legal opinion according to §28-3.

If you make this request to MG Hara prior to 12 noon on September 16, 2024, then you will not be derelict in your military duty, because the Royal Commission of Inquiry will then give time for MG Hara to make a formal request for a legal opinion from the Attorney General and give time for the legal opinion to be completed.

If you are derelict in the performance of your duty to establish a military government, then you would be the subject of an RCI war criminal report for the war crime by omission. The sequence of events will then loop to the Executive Officers. First, with the 29th Infantry Brigade, second, with the 1st Squadron, 299th Cavalry Regiment, third, with the 1st Battalion, 487th Field Artillery Regiment, fourth with the 29th Brigade Support Battalion, and fifth with the 227th Brigade Engineer Battalion.

This looping, within the 29th Infantry Brigade’s component commands, will cover all commissioned officers to include Majors, Captains, First Lieutenants and Second Lieutenants. After the commissioned officers have been exhausted in the 29th Infantry Brigade, the chain of command of commissioned officers of the 103rd Troop Command and its component commands will begin, followed by the chain of command of commissioned officers of the 298th Regiment, Regional Training Institute, and its component commands.

This looping, within the 29th Infantry Brigade’s component commands, will cover all commissioned officers to include Majors, Captains, First Lieutenants and Second Lieutenants. After the commissioned officers have been exhausted in the 29th Infantry Brigade, the chain of command of commissioned officers of the 103rd Troop Command and its component commands will begin, followed by the chain of command of commissioned officers of the 298th Regiment, Regional Training Institute, and its component commands. As you are aware, U.S. military officers are held to the highest personal and professional standards. When those standards are not met, officers may be administratively punished or criminally prosecuted. For you not to demand from the Attorney General for a legal opinion that the Hawaiian Kingdom no longer exists under international law, is to place the men and women, under your command, into harm’s way with criminal culpability under both military law and international criminal law. To ignore this will have dire consequences for the Hawai‘i Army National Guard.

Today, Dr. Keanu Sai, as Head of the Royal Commission of Inquiry, sent a letter to Governor Josh Green, M.D., and the members of his cabinet that he or any member of his cabinet have until September 20, 2024, to submit a request for a legal opinion from the Attorney General according to Hawai‘i Revised Statutes §28-3. The legal opinion must provide a legal basis, under international law, that the State of Hawai‘i exists within the territory of the United States and not within the territory of the Hawaiian Kingdom. To not do so, Dr. Sai stated that Governor Green and the members of his cabinet will be subject to war criminal reports, after September 20th, for the war crime of usurpation of sovereignty during military occupation. Here is a link to the letter.

The purpose of this letter is to apprise you of the severity of the current situation and its impact on the State of Hawai‘i’s legislative bodies. Enacting American municipal laws is in violation of international humanitarian law and the law of occupation, as is the enforcement of these laws by the executive branch. The continuous enacting of State of Hawai‘i laws, to include County ordinances, constitutes the war crime of usurpation of sovereignty during military occupation. According to Professor William Schabas, a renowned expert on international criminal law, war crimes and human rights, in his legal opinion on war crimes, being committed in the Hawaiian Kingdom, Professor Schabas identifies four elements of the war crime of usurpation of sovereignty during military occupation that has taken place within Hawaiian territory.

1. The perpetrator imposed or applied legislative or administrative measures of the occupying power going beyond those required by what is necessary for military purposes of the occupation.
2. The perpetrator was aware that the measures went beyond what was required for military purposes or the protection of fundamental human rights.
3. The conduct took place in the context of and was associated with an occupation resulting from international armed conflict.
4. The perpetrator was aware of factual circumstances that established the existence of the armed conflict and subsequent occupation.

Regarding the last two elements of the war crime of usurpation of sovereignty during military occupation, Professor Schabas explains:

1. There is no requirement for a legal evaluation by the perpetrator as to the existence of an armed conflict or its character of the conflict as international or non-international;
2. In that context there is no requirement for awareness by the perpetrator of the facts that established the character of the conflict as international or non-international;
3. There is only a requirement for the awareness of the factual circumstances that established the existence of an armed conflict that is implicit in the terms “took place in the context of and was associated with.”

It has been twenty-five years since the international arbitral proceedings at the Permanent Court of Arbitration (“PCA”) were initiated on November 8, 1999, in Larsen v. Hawaiian Kingdom. The first allegation of the war crime of usurpation of sovereignty during military occupation, was the subject of this arbitral dispute, whereby the claimant, Lance Larsen, alleged that the Hawaiian Kingdom, by its Council of Regency, was legally liable “for allowing the unlawful imposition of American municipal laws” over him within Hawaiian territory. This led to the war crimes of unfair trial and unlawful confinement by the District Court of the Third Circuit in Kea‘au.

Before the arbitral tribunal was established on June 9, 2000, the PCA Secretary General recognized, as a matter of institutional jurisdiction, the continued existence of the Hawaiian Kingdom as a non-Contracting State pursuant to Article 47 of the 1907 Hague Convention, I, for the Pacific Settlement of International Disputes. Article 47 states, “[t]he jurisdiction of the Permanent Court, may within the conditions laid down in the regulations, be extended to disputes between non-Contracting [States] or between Contracting [States] and non-Contracting [States], if the parties are agreed on recourse to this Tribunal.” This brought the dispute under the auspices of the PCA. The PCA Secretary General also recognized the Council of Regency as the Hawaiian Kingdom government. The Council of Regency did not claim to be the government of a new State but rather the legal personality of the continued existence of the Hawaiian Kingdom since the nineteenth century.

The issue of the continuity of the Hawaiian Kingdom, as a State under international law, is not a novel legal issue for the State of Hawai‘i. This issue has been at the center of case law and precedence, regarding jurisdictional arguments that came before the courts of the State of Hawai‘i since 1994. One year after the United States Congress passed the 1993 joint resolution, apologizing for the United States overthrow of the Hawaiian Kingdom government, the State of Hawai‘i Intermediate Court of Appeals heard an appeal that centered on a claim that the Hawaiian Kingdom continued to exist. In State of Hawai‘i v. Lorenzo, the appellate court stated:

Lorenzo appeals, arguing that the lower court erred in denying his pretrial motion (Motion) to dismiss the indictment. The essence of the Motion is that the [Hawaiian Kingdom] (Kingdom) was recognized as an independent sovereign nation by the United States in numerous bilateral treaties; the Kingdom was illegally overthrown in 1893 with the assistance of the United States; the Kingdom still exists as a sovereign nation; he is a citizen of the Kingdom; therefore, the courts of the State of Hawai‘i have no jurisdiction over him. Lorenzo makes the same argument on appeal. For the reasons set forth below, we conclude that the lower court correctly denied the Motion.

The appellate court affirmed the trial court’s judgment, but it admitted “the court’s rationale is open to question in light of international law.” By not applying international law, the appellate court concluded that the trial court’s decision was correct because Lorenzo “presented no factual (or legal) basis for concluding that the Kingdom exists as a state in accordance with recognized attributes of a state’s sovereign nature.” Since 1994, Lorenzo become the precedent case for denying defendants’ motions to dismiss claims that the Hawaiian Kingdom continues to exist. When the appellate court placed the burden on defendants to provide a ‘factual (or legal) basis for concluding that the Kingdom exists as a state in accordance with recognized attributes of a state’s sovereign nature,’ it would require the application of international law and not the municipal law or common law of the United States and/or the State of Hawai‘i in order for the defense to meet that burden.

The Supreme Court, in State of Hawai‘i v. Armitage, clarified the evidentiary burden that Lorenzo placed upon defendants. The court stated:

Lorenzo held that, for jurisdictional purposes, should a defendant demonstrate a factual or legal basis that the Kingdom of Hawai‘i “exists as a state in accordance with recognized attributes of a state’s sovereign nature[,]” and that he or she is a citizen of that sovereign state, a defendant may be able to argue that the courts of the State of Hawai‘i lack jurisdiction over him or her.

I am enclosing two legal opinions, published by the Hawaiian Journal of Law and Politics, by experts in international law, that provide a legal basis for concluding that the Hawaiian Kingdom ‘exists as a state in accordance with recognized attributes of a state’s sovereign nature,’ as called for by the State of Hawai‘i Intermediate Court of Appeals and the Supreme Court. These legal opinions were authored by two professors of international law, Matthew Craven, from the University of London, SOAS, Department of Law, and Federico Lenzerini, from the University of Siena, Department of Political and International Sciences. I am also enclosing my latest law article on the responsibility to protect a State’s population from war crimes that was published this year by the International Review of Contemporary Law.

Hawai‘i Revised Statutes §28-3 states: “[t]he attorney general shall, when requested, give opinions upon questions of law submitted by the governor, the legislature, or its members, or the head of any department (emphasis added).” The legal definition of shall “is an imperative command, usually indicating that certain actions are mandatory, and not permissive. This contrasts with the word ‘may,’ which is generally used to indicate a permissive provision, ordinarily implying some degree of discretion.” As Governor, you are authorized to request a legal opinion on a question of law, and the Attorney General shall provide you with it. That question of law, that I propose you request for a legal opinion on is:

Considering the two legal opinions by Professor Craven and Professor Lenzerini, that conclude the Hawaiian Kingdom continues to exist as a State under international law, which are enclosed with this request, is the State of Hawai‘i within the territory of the United States or is it within the territory of the Hawaiian Kingdom?

Under international law, there is a presumption of continuity of the Hawaiian State despite the overthrow of its government by the United States on January 17, 1893. According to Judge James Crawford, International Court of Justice, there “is a presumption that the State continues to exist, with its rights and obligations […] despite a period in which there is no, or no effective, government,” and belligerent occupation “does not affect the continuity of the State, even where there exists no government claiming to represent the occupied State.” Presumption is defined as an act or instance of taking something to be true. As a matter of law, in the absence of acceptable reasons to the contrary, presumption is an attitude adopted in law toward an action or proposal.

The presumption of State continuity shifts the burden of proof as to what is to be proven and by whom. Like the presumption of innocence, the accused does not prove their innocence, but rather the prosecution must prove, beyond a reasonable doubt, that person’s guilt. Beyond a reasonable doubt is evidence so convincing that no reasonable person would have any doubts as to the person’s guilt. Matthew Craven, professor of international law, explains:

If one were to speak about a presumption of continuity, one would suppose that an obligation would lie upon the party opposing that continuity to establish the facts substantiating its rebuttal. The continuity of the Hawaiian Kingdom, in other words, may be refuted only by reference to a valid demonstration of legal title, or sovereignty, on the part of the United States, absent of which the presumption remains.

In other words, the Attorney General’s legal opinion does not prove the State of Hawai‘i lawfully exists, but rather, it must prove beyond any reasonable doubt, that the Hawaiian Kingdom does not exists, as a State, under the rules of international law. Evidence of ‘a valid demonstration of legal title, or sovereignty, on the part of the United States’ would be an international treaty, particularly a peace treaty, whereby the Hawaiian Kingdom would have ceded its territory and sovereignty to the United States. Examples of foreign States ceding sovereign territory to the United States by a peace treaty include the 1848 Treaty of Peace, Friendship, Limits, and Settlement with the Republic of Mexico and the 1898 Treaty of Peace between the United States of America and the Kingdom of Spain.

To answer, in the affirmative, that the State of Hawai‘i is within the territory of the United States, the Attorney General must refer to a ‘valid demonstration of legal title, or sovereignty, on the part of the United States,’ in her legal opinion. Otherwise, the Hawaiian Kingdom continues to exist as a State under international law. For her to claim that the question of law raises a political question and, therefore, she cannot answer the question, is an admission to the Hawaiian Kingdom’s presumed existence since the nineteenth century. The political question doctrine refers to federal courts and their inability to adjudicate disputes that have been submitted to the courts for adjudication. According to the U.S. Supreme Court:

For purposes of Article III of the Constitution, “no justiciable ‘controversy’ exists when parties seek adjudication of a political question.” But the term “political question” is a legal term of art that on its face gives little indication of what sorts of cases the doctrine bars federal courts from deciding.

Furthermore, the Hawai‘i Supreme Court, in State of Hawai‘i v. Armitage, precludes the Attorney General from not answering the question if it was previously demonstrated, by the two legal opinions, that “a factual or legal basis that the Kingdom of Hawai‘i ‘exists as a state in accordance with recognized attributes of a state’s sovereign nature.’” According to State of Hawai‘i v. Lorenzo, she would have to provide rebuttable evidence that counters the conclusions of the two legal opinions, otherwise the presumption of the Hawaiian Kingdom’s existence as a State remains. Therefore, all acts taken by the United States within the territory of the Hawaiian Kingdom, to include the creation of the State of Hawai‘i by a congressional act, is void. According to the Permanent Court of International Justice, in the Lotus case (France v. Turkey):

Now the first and foremost restriction imposed by international law upon a State is that—failing the existence of a permissive rule to the contrary—it may not exercise its power in any form in the territory of another State. In this sense jurisdiction is certainly territorial; it cannot be exercised by a State outside its territory except by virtue of a permissive rule derived from international custom or from a convention.

Therefore, the United States cannot ‘exercise its power in any form in the territory of another State,’ such as the Hawaiian Kingdom, which it already has international treaties with. The United States needs a treaty of cession with the Hawaiian Kingdom before it can exercise any power within the latter’s territory. Consequently, the State of Hawai‘i has no legal standing within the territory of the Hawaiian Kingdom, and actions or conduct taken by members of the State of Hawai‘i and or its Counties could be construed as war crimes.

Unless the Adjutant General, Major General Kenneth Hara, as the theater commander, takes affirmative steps to establish a military government in accordance with the Law of Armed Conflict—international humanitarian law, U.S. Department of Defense Directive 5100.01, and Army Regulations—FM 27-5 and FM 27-10, the State of Hawai‘i has no lawful authority allowable under international law. A legal opinion, to the contrary, pursuant to HRS §28-3, must be made by yourself, as Governor, or by any of your department heads by Friday, September 20, 2024. War crimes have no statute of limitations. I recommend that all of you view a presentation that I gave to the Maui County Council’s Disaster, Resilience, International Affairs, and Planning (DRIP) Committee on March 6, 2024 (online at https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=X-VIA_3GD2A). .

For you and the members of your cabinet, this letter constitutes actual notice for committing the war crime of usurpation of sovereignty during military occupation and thus, you all will be subject to war criminal reports by the Royal Commission of Inquiry after September 20, 2024. To render this as frivolous, it is in your vested interest, as the Governor of the State of Hawai‘i, or of any of your heads of the departments, to get a legal opinion from the Attorney General pursuant to HRS §28-3 that provides the legal basis that the State of Hawai‘i exists within the territory of the United States and not within the territory of the Hawaiian Kingdom.

Yesterday, September 2, 2024, Dr. Keanu Sai, as Head of the Royal Commission of Inquiry, sent a letter to Lieutenant Colonel Joshua A. Jacobs regarding the publishing of War Criminal Report no. 24-0005 on Lieutenant Colonel Tuisamatatele, Jr.’s war crime by omission. The RCI also informed him that he has until 12 noon on September 9, 2024, to perform his military duty of establishing a military government of Hawai‘i. Here is a link to the letter.

Today, September 2, 2024, the Royal Commission of Inquiry (“RCI”) published its War Criminal Report no. 24-0005 finding Lieutenant Colonel Bingham L. Tuisamatatele, Jr. guilty of the war crime by omission. LTC Tuisamatatele willfully disobeyed an Army regulation and was willfully derelict in his duty to establish a military government. Therefore, his conduct, by omission, constitutes a war crime. LTC Tuisamatatele, in his official capacity as a senior member of the State of Hawai‘i Department of Defense, has met the requisite elements for the war crime by omission, by willfully disobeying an Army regulation and by willful dereliction in his duty to establish a military government, and is, therefore, guilty of the war crime by omission. These offenses do not have the requisite element of mens rea.

The term “guilty,” as used in the RCI war criminal reports, is defined as “[h]aving committed a crime or other breach of conduct; justly chargeable offense; responsible for a crime or tort or other offense or fault.” It is distinguished from a criminal prosecution where “guilty” is used by “an accused in pleading or otherwise answering to an indictment when he confesses to have committed the crime of which he is charged, and by the jury in convicting a person on trial for a particular crime.” According to U.S. military law, LTC Tuisamatatele is accountable by court-martial or nonjudicial punishment under Article 15, UCMJ. Under international criminal law, LTC Tuisamatatele is subject to prosecution, by a competent court or tribunal, for the war crime by omission.

Consequently, as the Commander of the 29th Brigade Support Battalion, you are now the theater commander. You should assume the chain of command, as the theater commander of the occupied State of Hawaiian Kingdom and perform your duty of establishing a military government by 12 noon on September 9, 2024. In my letter to LTC Tuisamatatele, dated August 26, 2024, I recommended that he submit a formal request to Major General Hara, as head of the Department of Defense, to request that the Attorney General, Anne Lopez, according to Hawai‘i Revised Statutes §28-3, provide a legal opinion that refutes the legal opinions of Profession William Schabas and Professor Federico Lenzerini that the Hawaiian Kingdom continues to exist as a State under international law. It is a request as to a question of law, which the Attorney General is bound to answer, but a request from the head of the Department of Defense is required under §28-3.

It would appear that LTC Tuisamatatele did not do so, which led to the publishing of War Criminal Report no. 24-0005. For you to not perform this military duty of establishing a military government of Hawai‘i, you will need a legal opinion from the Attorney General concluding that the State of Hawai‘i exists within the territory of the United States, and not within the territory of the Hawaiian Kingdom. I am attaching a sample letter from you to Major General Hara requesting of the Attorney General for a legal opinion according to §28-3.

If you make this request to MG Hara prior to 12 noon on September 9, 2024, then you will not be derelict in your military duty, because the Royal Commission of Inquiry will then give time for MG Hara to make a formal request for a legal opinion from the Attorney General and give time for the legal opinion to be completed.

If you are derelict in the performance of your duty to establish a military government, then you would be the subject of an RCI war criminal report for the war crime by omission. From the date of the publication of your war criminal report on the RCI’s website, Lieutenant Colonel Dale R. Balsis, Commander of 227th Brigade Engineer Battalion, will assume command of the Army National Guard and will have one week to transform the State of Hawai‘i into a military government.

As you are aware, U.S. military officers are held to the highest personal and professional standards. When those standards are not met, officers may be administratively punished or criminally prosecuted. For you not to demand from the Attorney General for a legal opinion that the Hawaiian Kingdom no longer exists under international law, is to place the men and women, under your command, into harm’s way with criminal culpability under both military law and international criminal law. To ignore this will have dire consequences for the Hawai‘i Army National Guard.

Today, August 26, 2024, Dr. Keanu Sai, as Head of the Royal Commission of Inquiry, sent a letter to Lieutenant Colonel Tuisamatatele, Jr. regarding the publishing of War Criminal Report no. 24-0004 on Lieutenant Colonel Fredrick J. Werner’s war crime by omission. The RCI also informed him that he has until 12 noon on August 26, 2024, to perform his military duty of establishing a military government of Hawai‘i. Here is a link to the letter.

Today, August 26, 2024, the Royal Commission of Inquiry (“RCI”) published its War Criminal Report no. 24-0004 finding Lieutenant Colonel Fredrick J. Werner guilty of the war crime by omission. LTC Werner willfully disobeyed an Army regulation and was willfully derelict in his duty to establish a military government. Therefore, his conduct, by omission, constitutes a war crime. LTC Werner, in his official capacity as a senior member of the State of Hawai‘i Department of Defense, has met the requisite elements for the war crime by omission, by willfully disobeying an Army regulation and by willful dereliction in his duty to establish a military government, and is, therefore, guilty of the war crime by omission. These offenses do not have the requisite element of mens rea.

The term “guilty,” as used in the RCI war criminal reports, is defined as “[h]aving committed a crime or other breach of conduct; justly chargeable offense; responsible for a crime or tort or other offense or fault.” It is distinguished from a criminal prosecution where “guilty” is used by “an accused in pleading or otherwise answering to an indictment when he confesses to have committed the crime of which he is charged, and by the jury in convicting a person on trial for a particular crime.” According U.S. military law, Colonel Kawakami is accountable by court-martial or nonjudicial punishment under Article 15, UCMJ. Under international criminal law, LTC Werner is subject to prosecution, by a competent court or tribunal, for the war crime by omission.

Consequently, as the Commander of the 1st Battalion, 487th Field Artillery Regiment, you are now the theater commander. You should assume the chain of command, as the theater commander of the occupied State of Hawaiian Kingdom and perform your duty of establishing a military government by 12 noon on September 2, 2024. In my letter to LTC Werner, dated August 19, 2024, I recommended that he submit a formal request to Major General Hara, as head of the Department of Defense, to request that the Attorney General, Anne Lopez, according to Hawai‘i Revised Statutes §28-3, provide a legal opinion that refutes the legal opinions of Profession William Schabas and Professor Federico Lenzerini that the Hawaiian Kingdom continues to exist as a State under international law. It is a request as to a question of law, which the Attorney General is bound to answer, but a request from the head of the Department of Defense is required under §28-3.

It would appear that LTC Werner did not do so, which led to the publishing of War Criminal Report no. 24-0004. For you to not perform this military duty of establishing a military government of Hawai‘i, you will need a legal opinion from the Attorney General concluding that the State of Hawai‘i exists within the territory of the United States, and not within the territory of the Hawaiian Kingdom. I am attaching a sample letter from you to Major General Hara requesting of the Attorney General for a legal opinion according to §28-3.

If you make this request to MG Hara prior to 12 noon on September 2, 2024, then you will not be derelict in your military duty, because the Royal Commission of Inquiry will then give time for MG Hara to make a formal request for a legal opinion from the Attorney General and give time for the legal opinion to be completed.

If you are derelict in the performance of your duty to establish a military government, then you would be the subject of an RCI war criminal report for the war crime by omission. From the date of the publication of your war criminal report on the RCI’s website, Lieutenant Colonel Joshua A. Jacobs, Commander of 29th Brigade Support Battalion, will assume command of the Army National Guard and will have one week to transform the State of Hawai‘i into a military government.

If LTC Jacobs is derelict in the performance of his duties to establish a military government, then he would be the subject of an RCI war criminal report for the war crime by omission. From the date of the publication of LTC Jacobs’s war criminal report on the RCI’s website, Lieutenant Colonel Dale R. Balsis, Commander of 227th Brigade Engineer Battalion, will assume command of the Army National Guard and will have one week to transform the State of Hawai‘i into a military government.

Should LTC Balsis be derelict in the performance of his duties to establish a military government and be the subject of a war criminal report for the war crime by omission, that will be published on the RCI’s website; then the sequence of events will loop to the Executive Officers. First, with the 29th Infantry Brigade, second, with the 1st Squadron, 299th Cavalry Regiment, third, with the 1st Battalion, 487th Field Artillery Regiment, fourth with the 29th Brigade Support Battalion, and fifth with the 227th Brigade Engineer Battalion.

This looping, within the 29th Infantry Brigade’s component commands, will cover all commissioned officers to include Majors, Captains, First Lieutenants and Second Lieutenants. After the commissioned officers have been exhausted in the 29th Infantry Brigade, the chain of command of commissioned officers of the 103rd Troop Command and its component commands will begin, followed by the chain of command of commissioned officers of the 298th Regiment, Regional Training Institute, and its component commands.

As you are aware, U.S. military officers are held to the highest personal and professional standards. When those standards are not met, officers may be administratively punished or criminally prosecuted. For you not to demand from the Attorney General for a legal opinion that the Hawaiian Kingdom no longer exists under international law, is to place the men and women, under your command, into harm’s way with criminal culpability under both military law and international criminal law. To ignore this will have dire consequences for the Hawai‘i Army National Guard.

Today, August 19, 2024, Dr. Keanu Sai, as Head of the Royal Commission of Inquiry, sent a letter to Lieutenant Colonel Fredrick Werner regarding the publishing of War Criminal Report no. 24-0003 on Colonel Wesley Kawakami’s war crime by omission. The RCI also informed him that he has until 12 noon on August 26, 2024, to perform his military duty of establishing a military government of Hawai‘i. Here is a link to the letter.

Today, August 19, 2024, the Royal Commission of Inquiry (“RCI”) published its War Criminal Report no. 24-0003 finding Wesley K. Kawakami guilty of the war crime by omission. BG Logan willfully disobeyed an Army regulation and was willfully derelict in his duty to establish a military government. Therefore, his conduct, by omission, constitutes a war crime. Colonel Kawakami, in his official capacity as a senior member of the State of Hawai‘i Department of Defense, has met the requisite elements for the war crime by omission, by willfully disobeying an Army regulation and by willful dereliction in his duty to establish a military government, and is, therefore, guilty of the war crime by omission. These offenses do not have the requisite element of mens rea.

The term “guilty,” as used in the RCI war criminal reports, is defined as “[h]aving committed a crime or other breach of conduct; justly chargeable offense; responsible for a crime or tort or other offense or fault.” It is distinguished from a criminal prosecution where “guilty” is used by “an accused in pleading or otherwise answering to an indictment when he confesses to have committed the crime of which he is charged, and by the jury in convicting a person on trial for a particular crime.” According U.S. military law, Colonel Kawakami is accountable by court-martial or nonjudicial punishment under Article 15, UCMJ. Under international criminal law, Colonel Kawakami is subject to prosecution, by a competent court or tribunal, for the war crime by omission.

Consequently, as the Commander of the 1st Squadron, 299th Cavalry Regiment, you are now the theater commander. You should assume the chain of command, as the theater commander of the occupied State of Hawaiian Kingdom and perform your duty of establishing a military government by 12 noon on August 26, 2024. In my letter to Colonel Kawakami, dated August 15, 2024, I recommended that he submit a formal request to Major General Hara, as head of the Department of Defense, to request that the Attorney General, Anne Lopez, according to Hawai‘i Revised Statutes §28-3, provide a legal opinion that refutes the legal opinions of Profession William Schabas and Professor Federico Lenzerini that the Hawaiian Kingdom continues to exist as a State under international law. It is a request as to a question of law, which the Attorney General is bound to answer, but a request from the head of the Department of Defense is required under §28-3.

It would appear that Colonel Kawakami did not do so, which led to the publishing of War Criminal Report no. 24-0003. For you to not perform this military duty of establishing a military government of Hawai‘i, you will need a legal opinion from the Attorney General concluding that the State of Hawai‘i exists within the territory of the United States, and not within the territory of the Hawaiian Kingdom. I am attaching a sample letter from you to Major General Hara requesting of the Attorney General for a legal opinion according to §28-3.

If you make this request to MG Hara prior to 12 noon on August 26, 2024, then you will not be derelict in your military duty, because the Royal Commission of Inquiry will then give time for MG Hara to make a formal request for a legal opinion from the Attorney General and give time for the legal opinion to be completed. I cannot understand why Colonel Kawakami did not make the request. In the absence of this legal opinion, you must perform your military duty.

If you are derelict in the performance of your duty to establish a military government, then you would be the subject of an RCI war criminal report for the war crime by omission. From the date of the publication of your war criminal report on the RCI’s website, Lieutenant Colonel Bingham L. Tuisamatatele, Jr., Commander of 1st Battalion, 487th Field Artillery Regiment, will assume command of the Army National Guard and will have one week to transform the State of Hawai‘i into a military government.

If LTC Tuisamatatele is derelict in the performance of his duties to establish a military government, then he would be the subject of an RCI war criminal report for the war crime by omission. From the date of the publication of LTC Tuisamatatele’s war criminal report on the RCI’s website, Lieutenant Colonel Joshua A. Jacobs, Commander of 29th Brigade Support Battalion, will assume command of the Army National Guard and will have one week to transform the State of Hawai‘i into a military government.

If LTC Jacobs is derelict in the performance of his duties to establish a military government, then he would be the subject of an RCI war criminal report for the war crime by omission. From the date of the publication of LTC Jacobs’s war criminal report on the RCI’s website, Lieutenant Colonel Dale R. Balsis, Commander of 227th Brigade Engineer Battalion, will assume command of the Army National Guard and will have one week to transform the State of Hawai‘i into a military government.

Should LTC Balsis be derelict in the performance of his duties to establish a military government and be the subject of a war criminal report for the war crime by omission, that will be published on the RCI’s website; then the sequence of events will loop to the Executive Officers. First, with the 29th Infantry Brigade, second, with the 1st Squadron, 299th Cavalry Regiment, third, with the 1st Battalion, 487th Field Artillery Regiment, fourth with the 29th Brigade Support Battalion, and fifth with the 227th Brigade Engineer Battalion.

This looping, within the 29th Infantry Brigade’s component commands, will cover all commissioned officers to include Majors, Captains, First Lieutenants and Second Lieutenants. After the commissioned officers have been exhausted in the 29th Infantry Brigade, the chain of command of commissioned officers of the 103rd Troop Command and its component commands will begin, followed by the chain of command of commissioned officers of the 298th Regiment, Regional Training Institute, and its component commands.

Colonel Kawakami’s conduct is unbecoming of an officer that has consequently placed every soldier under his command, to include yourself, subject to criminal culpability because he did not demand that the Attorney General provide him evidence that the Hawaiian Kingdom no longer exists as a State under international law. Consequently, he willfully disobeyed an Army regulation and was willfully derelict in his duty to establish a military government.

As you are aware, U.S. military officers are held to the highest personal and professional standards. When those standards are not met, officers may be administratively punished or criminally prosecuted. For you not to demand from the Attorney General for a legal opinion that the Hawaiian Kingdom no longer exists under international law, is to place the men and women, under your command, into harm’s way with criminal culpability under both military law and international criminal law. To ignore this will have dire consequences for the Hawai‘i Army National Guard.

Today, August 15, 2024, Dr. Keanu Sai, as Head of the Royal Commission of Inquiry, sent a letter to Colonel Wesley Kawakami advising him to request for a legal opinion from Attorney General Anne E. Lopez explaining that the Hawaiian Kingdom ceases to exist as a State under international law so that this claim can be rendered frivolous. The RCI also informed him that he has until 12 noon on August 19, 2024, to perform his military duty of establishing a military government of Hawai‘i unless makes the request for the legal opinion through Major General Kenneth Hara.. Here is a link to the letter.

As Title 32 troops, the Army National Guard can serve under the Governor as their Commander in Chief, or, when activated for deployment to a foreign country, the President as their Commander in Chief. There is never a situation where there are two Commander in Chiefs that the Army National Guard reports to. In other words, unless activated by the President, if the Army National Guard is within the United States, then it reports to the Governor of the State they reside. If the Army National Guard is within the territory of an Occupied State, then the Commander in Chief is the President.

In my letter to Brigadier General Stephen Logan dated August 11, 2024, I brought to his attention Hawai‘i Revised Statutes §28-3, “The attorney general shall, when requested, give opinions upon questions of law submitted by the governor, the legislature, or its members, or the head of any department.” A legal opinion is “a statement of advice by an expert on a professional matter.” While you are not the head of the Department of Defense, you are implicated by the conduct of its head, Major General Kenneth Hara, in the performance of a military duty in an Occupied State. Enclosed is a legal opinion dated March 17, 2014, that was requested by the head of the Department of Hawaiian Home Lands.

In my letter to BG Logan, I brought to his attention that the legal existence of the Hawaiian Kingdom, as a State, has become a precedence in Hawai‘i judicial proceedings since 1994. This precedence places the burden on defendants, who were arguing the Hawaiian Kingdom continues to exist, that they must, according to the Hawai‘i Supreme Court, in State of Hawai‘i v. Armitage, “demonstrate a factual or legal basis that the Kingdom of Hawai‘i ‘exists as a state in accordance with recognized attributes of a state’s sovereign nature.’”

Thus, since I provided two legal opinions that ‘demonstrate a factual or legal basis’ to conclude that the Hawaiian Kingdom does exist ‘as a state in accordance with recognized attributes of a state’s sovereign nature,’ the State of Hawai‘i Attorney General Anne E. Lopez must provide a legal opinion that refutes these legal opinions. If the Attorney General is confident that the State of Hawai‘i is a lawful entity and the Hawaiian Kingdom ceases to exist, then she should have no problem providing a legal opinion that explains it. This legal opinion would determine whether your Commander in Chief is the Governor or the President.

According to §28-3, only the head of the Department of Defense can request a legal opinion, but since you have been implicated by the inaction of MG Hara to make that initial request, you can make a formal request, as the Commander of the 29^th Infantry Brigade, of MG Hara, to make that initial request. If you make this request to MG Hara prior to 12 noon on August 19, 2024, then you will not be derelict in your military duty, because the Royal Commission of Inquiry will then give time for MG Hara to make a formal request for a legal opinion from the Attorney General and give time for the legal opinion to be completed.

However, should you fail to make the request of MG Hara for a legal opinion from the Attorney General by 12 noon on August 19^th, you will be derelict in your duty and be the subject of a war criminal report by the RCI for the war crime by omission. For your consideration, I have enclosed a sample letter to provide to MG Hara.

Today, August 12, 2024, Dr. Keanu Sai, as Head of the Royal Commission of Inquiry, sent a letter to Colonel Wesley Kawakami regarding the publishing of War Criminal Report no. 24-0002 on Brigadier Major General Stephen Logan’s war crime by omission. The RCI also informed him that he has until 12 noon on August 19, 2024, to perform his military duty of establishing a military government of Hawai‘i. Here is a link to the letter.

Today, August 12, 2024, the Royal Commission of Inquiry (“RCI”) published its War Criminal Report no. 24-0002 finding Brigadier General Stephen Logan guilty of the war crime by omission. BG Logan willfully disobeyed an Army regulation and was willfully derelict in his duty to establish a military government. Therefore, his conduct, by omission, constitutes a war crime. BG Logan, in his official capacity as a senior member of the State of Hawai‘i Department of Defense, has met the requisite elements for the war crime by omission, by willfully disobeying an Army regulation and by willful dereliction in his duty to establish a military government, and is, therefore, guilty of the war crime by omission. These offenses do not have the requisite element of mens rea.

The term “guilty,” as used in the RCI war criminal reports, is defined as “[h]aving committed a crime or other breach of conduct; justly chargeable offense; responsible for a crime or tort or other offense or fault.” It is distinguished from a criminal prosecution where “guilty” is used by “an accused in pleading or otherwise answering to an indictment when he confesses to have committed the crime of which he is charged, and by the jury in convicting a person on trial for a particular crime.” According U.S. military law, BG Logan is accountable by court-martial or nonjudicial punishment under Article 15, UCMJ. Under international criminal law, BG Logan is subject to prosecution, by a competent court or tribunal, for the war crime by omission.

Consequently, as the Commander of the 29th Infantry Brigade, you are now the theater commander. You should assume the chain of command, as the theater commander of the occupied State of Hawaiian Kingdom and perform your duty of establishing a military government by 12 noon on August 19, 2024. In my letter to BG Logan, dated August 11, 2024, I recommended that he submit a formal request to the Attorney General, Anne Lopez, for a legal opinion that refutes the legal opinions of Profession William Schabas and Professor Federico Lenzerini that the Hawaiian Kingdom continues to exist as a State under international law.

It would appear that BG Logan did not do so, which led to the publishing of War Criminal Report no. 24-0002. For you to not perform this military duty of establishing a military government of Hawai‘i, you will need a legal opinion from the Attorney General concluding that the Hawaiian Kingdom ceases to exist as a State under international law. In the absence of this legal opinion, you must perform your military duty.

If you are derelict in the performance of your duty to establish a military government, then you would be the subject of an RCI war criminal report for the war crime by omission. From the date of the publication of your war criminal report on the RCI’s website, Lieutenant Colonel Fredrick J. Werner, Commander of 1st Squadron, 299th Cavalry Regiment, who is next in the chain of command below you, shall assume command of the Army National Guard. LTC Werner will have one week to transform the State of Hawai‘i into a military government.

If LTC Werner is derelict in the performance of his duties to establish a military government, then he would be the subject of an RCI war criminal report for the war crime by omission. From the date of the publication of LTC Werner’s war criminal report on the RCI’s website, Lieutenant Colonel Bingham L. Tuisamatatele, Jr., Commander of 1st Battalion, 487th Field Artillery Regiment, will assume command of the Army National Guard and will have one week to transform the State of Hawai‘i into a military government.

If LTC Tuisamatatele is derelict in the performance of his duties to establish a military government, then he would be the subject of an RCI war criminal report for the war crime by omission. From the date of the publication of LTC Tuisamatatele’s war criminal report on the RCI’s website, Lieutenant Colonel Joshua A. Jacobs, Commander of 29th Brigade Support Battalion, will assume command of the Army National Guard and will have one week to transform the State of Hawai‘i into a military government.

If LTC Jacobs is derelict in the performance of his duties to establish a military government, then he would be the subject of an RCI war criminal report for the war crime by omission. From the date of the publication of LTC Jacobs’s war criminal report on the RCI’s website, Lieutenant Colonel Dale R. Balsis, Commander of 227th Brigade Engineer Battalion, will assume command of the Army National Guard and will have one week to transform the State of Hawai‘i into a military government.

Should LTC Balsis be derelict in the performance of his duties to establish a military government and be the subject of a war criminal report for the war crime by omission, that will be published on the RCI’s website; then the sequence of events will loop to the Executive Officers. First, with the 29th Infantry Brigade, second, with the 1st Squadron, 299th Cavalry Regiment, third, with the 1st Battalion, 487th Field Artillery Regiment, fourth with the 29th Brigade Support Battalion, and fifth with the 227th Brigade Engineer Battalion.

This looping, within the 29th Infantry Brigade’s component commands, will cover all commissioned officers to include Majors, Captains, First Lieutenants and Second Lieutenants. After the commissioned officers have been exhausted in the 29th Infantry Brigade, the chain of command of commissioned officers of the 103rd Troop Command and its component commands will begin, followed by the chain of command of commissioned officers of the 298th Regiment, Regional Training Institute, and its component commands.

BG Logan’s conduct is unbecoming of an officer that has consequently placed every soldier under his command, to include yourself, subject to criminal culpability because he did not demand that the Attorney General provide him evidence that the Hawaiian Kingdom no longer exists as a State under international law. Consequently, he willfully disobeyed an Army regulation and was willfully derelict in his duty to establish a military government.

As you are aware, U.S. military officers are held to the highest personal and professional standards. When those standards are not met, officers may be administratively punished or criminally prosecuted. For you not to demand from the Attorney General for a legal opinion that the Hawaiian Kingdom no longer exists under international law, is to place the men and women, under your command, into harm’s way with criminal culpability under both military law and international criminal law. To ignore this will have dire consequences for the Hawai‘i Army National Guard.

Today, August 10, 2024, Dr. Keanu Sai, as Head of the Royal Commission of Inquiry, sent a letter to Deputy Adjutant General, Brigadier General Stephen Logan, stating how he should request a legal opinion from State of Hawai‘i Attorney General Anne Lopez by 12 noon tomorrow so that he will not be the subject of a war criminal report for the war crime by omission. Here is a link to the letter.

This is my last notification to you. According to Hawai‘i Revised Statutes §28-3, “The attorney general shall, when requested, give opinions upon questions of law submitted by the governor, the legislature, or its members, or the head of any department.” While you are not the head of the Department of Defense, you are implicated by the conduct of the head, Major General Kenneth Hara, in the performance of a military duty. A legal opinion is “a statement of advice by an expert on a professional matter.”

The issue of the continuity of the Hawaiian Kingdom, as a State under international law, is not a novel legal issue for the State of Hawai‘i. It has been at the center of case law and precedence, regarding jurisdictional arguments that came before the courts of the State of Hawai‘i, since 1994. One year after the United States Congress passed the joint resolution apologizing for the United States overthrow of the Hawaiian Kingdom government in 1993, an appeal was heard by the State of Hawai‘i Intermediate Court of Appeals that centered on a claim that the Hawaiian Kingdom continues to exist. In State of Hawai‘i v. Lorenzo, the appellate court stated:

Lorenzo appeals, arguing that the lower court erred in denying his pretrial motion (Motion) to dismiss the indictment. The essence of the Motion is that the [Hawaiian Kingdom] (Kingdom) was recognized as an independent sovereign nation by the United States in numerous bilateral treaties; the Kingdom was illegally overthrown in 1893 with the assistance of the United States; the Kingdom still exists as a sovereign nation; he is a citizen of the Kingdom; therefore, the courts of the State of Hawai‘i have no jurisdiction over him. Lorenzo makes the same argument on appeal. For the reasons set forth below, we conclude that the lower court correctly denied the Motion.

While the appellate court affirmed the trial court’s judgment, it admitted “the court’s rationale is open to question in light of international law.” By not applying international law, the court concluded that the trial court’s decision was correct because Lorenzo “presented no factual (or legal) basis for concluding that the Kingdom [continues to exist] as a state in accordance with recognized attributes of a state’s sovereign nature.” Since 1994, the Lorenzo case has become a precedent case that served as the basis for denying defendants’ motions to dismiss claims that the Hawaiian Kingdom continues to exist. In State of Hawai‘i v. Fergerstrom, the appellate court stated, “[w]e affirm that relevant precedent [in State of Hawai‘i v. Lorenzo],” and that defendants have an evidentiary burden that shows the Hawaiian Kingdom continues to exist.

The Supreme Court, in State of Hawai‘i v. Armitage, clarified the evidentiary burden that Lorenzo placed upon defendants. The court stated:

Lorenzo held that, for jurisdictional purposes, should a defendant demonstrate a factual or legal basis that the Kingdom of Hawai’i “exists as a state in accordance with recognized attributes of a state’s sovereign nature[,]” and that he or she is a citizen of that sovereign state, a defendant may be able to argue that the courts of the State of Hawai‘i lack jurisdiction over him or her.

Unlike Lorenzo, I provided you two legal opinions, by experts in international law, in my letter to you yesterday, August 10, 2024, that provided a factual and a legal basis for concluding that the Hawaiian Kingdom ‘exists as a state in accordance with recognized attributes of a state’s sovereign nature,’ as called for by the State of Hawai‘i Intermediate Court of Appeals and the Supreme Court. These legal opinions were authored by two professors of international law, Matthew Craven, from the University of London, SOAS, Department of Law, and Federico Lenzerini, from the University of Siena, Department of Political and International Sciences.

As a result, this situation places the burden on the State of Hawai‘i Attorney General, Anne Lopez, to rebut these legal opinions pursuant to State of Hawai‘i v. Lorenzo and State of Hawai‘i v. Armitage. This would legally qualify her instruction to you to ignore the calls for performing your military duty to establish a military government.

There are two scenarios you face on this subject. The first scenario is to submit a formal letter to the Attorney General, with the approval of MG Hara as head of the Department of Defense, for a legal opinion that refutes the two legal opinions that opine that the Hawaiian Kingdom continues to exist as a State under international law. The second scenario is for MG Hara, himself, as head of the Department of Defense, to submit a similar formal letter to the Attorney General. Consequently, both scenarios will remove the element of mens rea of willful dereliction of duty by MG Hara, and the Royal Commission of Inquiry will also withdraw its War Criminal Report no. 24-0001.

I am making every effort to shield both you and MG Hara from committing the war crime by omission, and it boils down to a simple letter asking the right question. Should you decide to request a legal opinion of the Attorney General pursuant to §28-3, HRS, I have enclosed a sample letter to be sent to the Attorney General before 12 noon tomorrow.

If you or MG Hara have any questions, do not hesitate to contact me before 12 noon tomorrow. If I do not hear from you, by email or otherwise, that you submitted the request for a legal opinion before 12 noon tomorrow, I will assume that you did not make the request, and you will be the subject of a war criminal report for the war crime by omission.

Today, August 10, 2024, Dr. Keanu Sai, as Head of the Royal Commission of Inquiry, sent a letter to Deputy Adjutant General, Brigadier General Stephen Logan, stating the position of the Royal Commission of Inquiry on whether BG Logan has requested a legal opinion from State of Hawai‘i Attorney General Anne Lopez. Here is a link to the letter.

As August 12, 2024 is fast approaching, the Royal Commission of Inquiry (“RCI”) would like to separate the two actions you are faced with regarding your duty to establish a military government. The first action is the request by you of the Attorney General, Anne E. Lopez, to provide you with a legal opinion that concludes, with irrefutable facts and the law, that the Hawaiian Kingdom does not continue to exist as a State under international law. The second action is the performance of the duty to establish a military government if the Attorney General has not provided you with a legal opinion.

If you did notify the Attorney General to provide you with a legal opinion before 12 noon on August 12th and she has not gotten back to you by 12 noon on August 12th, then the RCI will not demand that you perform your duty to establish a military government until the Attorney General has completed that legal opinion for you. If this is the course that you have taken, the Attorney General will have to rebuke the following legal opinions regarding the continuity of the Hawaiian Kingdom as a State, and the legal standing of the Council of Regency:

• Professor Matthew Craven, University of London, SOAS, Department of Law, attached as enclosure 1.

• Professor Federico Lenzerini, University of Siena, Italy, Department of Political and International Sciences, attached as enclosure 2.

If you do not notify the RCI, by email or by letter via email prior to 12 noon on August 12, 2024, that you have requested a legal opinion from the Attorney General, and she has not completed the same, then the RCI will assume that you did not make the request. If this is the case, and you have not established a military government by 12 noon on August 12, 2024, then you will be the subject of a war criminal report for the war crime by omission.