US attorney for Hawaiʻi resigns

U.S. Attorney for the District of Hawaiʻi Clare Connors will step down later this month.

Connors submitted her resignation to President Joe Biden and U.S. Attorney General Merrick Garland. It becomes effective just before midnight Jan. 19, only hours before the inauguration of President-elect Donald Trump.

“It was a privilege to rejoin this office and to serve Hawaiʻi as the chief federal law enforcement officer,” she said. “The department’s mission — to keep the community safe from threats foreign and domestic, protect civil rights and uphold the rule of law — is critical to our state’s overall well-being and I am honored to have worked alongside the committed public servants who will continue to fulfill it.”

Connors — who served from Jan. 3, 2019, to Dec. 10, 2021, as Hawaiʻi attorney general — became U.S. attorney for Hawaiʻi on Jan. 3, 2022, after being nominated Sept. 28, 2021, by Biden and confirmed Dec. 7, 2021, by the U.S. Senate.

The Hawaiʻi-raised lawyer attended Yale, graduating with honors. Connors then served 3 years as operations coordinator for the Parks and Recreation Department for the City of New York before leaving to attend Harvard Law School.

She returned to the islands after completing her law degree and clerked for then-Chief U.S. District Court Judge Alan Ezra.

Connors then began her legal career in public service, representing the United States as a trial lawyer prosecuting federal crimes. She went to Washington, D.C., and joined the Department of Justices Tax Division, where she prosecuted complex tax crimes.

Returning home to Hawaiʻi again in 2004, Connors became an assistant U.S. attorney for Hawaiʻi and served her first stint with the District of Hawaiʻi office for about 7 years, prosecuting a broad variety of crimes but specializing in complex fraud, public corruption and tax matters.

She worked as a civil litigator and partner with the law firm Davis Levin Livingston in Honolulu prior to her appointment as state attorney general. While there, she primarily handled commercial disputes, wrongful death actions, medical malpractice claims on behalf of injured persons and other personal injury matters.

Connors responsibilities as the top-ranking federal law enforcement official in the Hawaiʻi District included overseeing a staff of about 60 attorneys and support personnel.

The office is responsible for prosecuting federal crimes committed in the district, such as those related to national security, public corruption, drug trafficking, child exploitation, firearms and violent crime. It also initiates civil actions, defends the United States in civil cases and collects debts owed to the nation.

During her tenure, Connors prioritized public corruption and integrity crimes. She also closely collaborated with state and local law enforcement to address organized and violent crime, disrupt large-scale drug activity and support targeted violence initiatives and mitigation efforts.

The office also worked closely with law enforcement partners to investigate and prosecute child exploitation crimes as well as support community efforts through organizations such as Weed and Seed Hawaiʻi.

“Connors repeatedly emphasized the important relationship the public has with the federal law enforcement components in Hawaiʻi and encouraged those who witness misconduct — including financial crimes or civil rights violations that could the basis for whistleblower and qui tam actions — to report it to federal authorities,” said the announcement of her resignation.