2026-10-19 - Senate Select Investigative Committee
Summary
Based on auto-generated captions; Samoan speech is rendered as "Foreign speech" and English names, numbers and account details may be misheard. Everything below is testimony or claims as captioned, not findings.
Time on topic (from transcript timestamps; approximate, includes side talk):
| Topic | Minutes | Share |
|---|---|---|
| Telecom CEO Position Change | 37 | 51% |
| Telecom Wire Transfer Records | 8 | 11% |
| Telecom Roaming Holding Account | 7 | 10% |
| Opening and sparsely captioned stretches | 21 | 28% |
- Monday, October 19, 2026.
- Hearing of the Senate Select Investigative Committee of the Fono, listed in the official video title as a continuation of A250.
- The recording runs about 1:12:39 (last caption); no adjournment is captioned.
- The first 20 minutes are mostly uncaptioned Samoan speech with only scattered English words (CEO, COO, "final report", A250, a "GHC read group"), so they are not counted as discussion.
- Long caption gaps (for example 7:25 to 8:43 and 12:59 to 13:31) mean exchanges may be missing.
- No closed session is captioned.
Telecom Wire Transfer Records
20:58-27:05, 30:37-32:03
- A witness described as the entity's current chief executive walked through deposits and wire transfers apparently totaling about 288,000 (currency not captioned), from a "GHC read group" (name uncertain), with bank statements, invoices and an expenditure report.
- The committee asked about reconciling records and exhibits. The witness said a copy with a redacted account number had been provided and offered to resubmit it.
- Questions touched on customer credits, a motors company, a bank (captioned "Central Pacific Bank"), and investment accounts and an investment group the witness said they had been trying to reach.
Telecom Roaming Holding Account
27:05-30:37, 32:03-36:00
- The witness said a roaming-charges account is a requirement mandated by the FCC for telecommunications companies and is a holding account rather than a working account.
- Committee members asked for the name of the clearinghouse; it was spelled out letter by letter and sounds like "Syniverse" (spelling per captions, unconfirmed).
- The witness said the account is managed under FCC mandates and that discussions about it predated their becoming CEO.
Telecom CEO Position Change
36:00-1:12:39
- Questioning turned to the removal of a former chief executive (first name only in captions) and the shift of the post from CEO to COO (chief operations officer).
- The witness said the executive order calls for the board to hire the CEO, and that the former chief executive could have stayed acting CEO in the meantime. They said severance had been forgone but that the requirements were still not met, and that severance pay was still owed.
- Exhibits were cited (a transcript marked number five and a settlement agreement and release marked Exhibit six).
- The witness said the former chief executive was moved out of career service under the executive order and is now on a two-year contract. Members probed dates (captions suggest October 2024, May 2025 and a three-year term), probationary status, and whether the governor's priorities or board authority supported the change.
- The witness said the arrangement was not a trade for anything else. A closing exchange referred to a request accepted by the governor and to the terms of a settlement; the captions are too fragmentary to follow it.
- The last captions mention exhibits, a report and a final committee report; no vote or outcome is captioned.
Other business
- Several brief exchanges, including a mention that another official had stepped down to run for office, are too fragmentary to summarize.
Sources
Video
Transcript
These are auto-generated captions; names and numbers may be misheard.
Transcript
00:00Foreign
00:02speech. Foreign speech. Foreign speech.
00:12for
00:32remote.
01:22Fore.
01:37Yeah.
01:48Speech.
02:19Fore
02:30speech.
02:40for
03:08my phone. Foreign
03:18speech. Foreign speech. Foreign speech.
03:38foreign
03:54speech.
04:10Totally. What?
04:25for
04:30[clears throat]
04:32Yeah.
04:44for
05:13Foreign
05:20speech. Foreign speech. Foreign speech.
05:40foreign
06:09speech.
06:14Final report.
06:27Yeah. [sighs and gasps]
06:49Yeah.
07:01Oh.
07:09Yeah,
07:25in the name of
08:16There we go.
08:43CEO for the chief executive officer.
09:02Chief Operation Officer.
09:34Yeah.
09:48Officer
09:52motor.
09:56Fore tattoo
10:15recently.
10:24Island.
10:37Yeah. [clears throat]
10:46Don't
10:51CEO.
11:10Oh.
11:24tonight.
11:34Final report
11:38A250.
11:45July July 4th.
11:48Yeah. [clears throat]
12:02Fore
12:20COE.
12:35Final report.
12:59report.
13:07Yeah.
13:31GHC reads co-sponsoring
13:48GH
13:48read.
14:31Ma
14:38G.
14:54Fore
15:04speech.
15:15Yeah.
15:21Yeah.
15:33Uh, administration.
15:52Foreign
16:05speech. Foreign speech. Foreign speech.
16:13foreign.
16:36Yeah.
16:40for
16:58CEO,
17:06chief operation officer or COO. Foreign
17:19speech. Foreign speech. Foreign speech.
17:29Foreign
17:33speech. Foreign speech. Foreign speech.
17:43foreign.
18:18Fore
18:32damage
18:42foreign.
18:53Yeah.
19:08Too far to sing.
19:49Yeah.
19:58Yeah.
20:16after.
20:26Yeah.
20:39motor.
20:58So, Fore
21:25250.
21:38or deposits GHC
21:46wire transfers
21:49Ford total to 288,000
22:04Read group.
22:24Bank statement.
22:48Invoices,
22:53deposits or bank statement.
23:03Expenditure report.
23:24GHC read group.
23:55250. Yeah, we've dissolved the
23:58committee.
24:01250
24:03reconcile records.
24:19I may copy. I
24:24exhibit.
24:51redacted
24:58account number but I will resubmit.
25:03Um we can submit the account number.
25:10redact number.
25:12>> Yeah,
25:13>> but we will resubmit.
25:42Motors, Inc.
25:48Okay.
26:09customers.
26:18Credits.
26:42Yeah.
26:44Foreign
26:48speech. Foreign speech. Foreign speech.
26:59Uh
27:05exhibit
27:08account
27:24number.
27:27Yeah.
27:40County,
27:48Central Pacific Bank.
28:00It's a requirement
28:03roaming.
28:05It's mandated by the FCC
28:12every telecommunications company
28:17because it's managed by the FCC,
28:20mandated by the FCC.
28:26Yeah. The roaming charges.
28:35>> Cinnverse. Yes.
28:39>> Civerse.
28:41>> I'm sorry. Really the sound?
28:44>> S Y N
28:46>> N I
28:49>> N I E R S
28:51>> N I V E R S E
28:54>> S I
28:55>> S Y
28:56>> S Y
28:58>> N I
28:59>> N I
29:03Yeah.
29:17So S Y N I
29:19>> V E R S E
29:22>> V
29:22>> V E V B V B Victor.
29:25>> Yeah. R S
29:28>> verse V E R S E
29:31>> S
29:31>> Civerse
29:33>> Siverse
29:36Bank.
29:49Yeah.
29:52Foreign
30:01[clears throat]
30:37Investment accounts
30:48investment
31:01Investment group.
31:07Investment group.
31:17investment
31:27investment, but for some reason,
31:45I have been trying to reach out to these
31:47Folks
31:53invest.
32:03Yeah.
32:21Yeah.
32:35Final report.
32:42Final report.
32:54report.
33:00Yeah.
33:19Yeah. Final report.
33:29Yes.
34:01S y s y n i
34:04s y n i v e r e s's bank
34:10account.
34:17working account. It's a holding account.
34:41account because it's a FCC mandated
34:43account
34:53but it's managed by
34:59and the mandates that goes with it from
35:01the FCC.
35:05for
35:09Yeah.
35:46Yeah.
36:00But apparently there were conversations
36:03uh before um I became the CEO.
36:17for
36:46South Mat.
36:51Yeah.
37:01Passport.
37:14Fore! Foreign! Foreign!
37:25for
37:45address.
37:54for
38:08CEO.
38:45Settlements.
38:52CEO position. But
38:59if you were to ask me then
39:03I would have said they should have never
39:04removed Chuck.
39:06And the reason why is and rehire him.
39:09The reason why is because
39:12executive order and what the executive
39:14order calls for the executive order
39:17calls for the board to hire the CEO
39:21but all other staffing
39:30if that's what they decided to do
39:34then they should have just kept him as
39:38the acting CEO. then until they figure
39:40out exactly what they want to do. So,
39:54it went from a CEO to COO and then forgo
39:57the the severance bay. However, it's
40:01still not meeting the requirements.
40:10Executive order about who are they
40:12authorized to hire? Who they're not
40:14authorized to executive order?
40:17>> Executive order.
40:19Who's who executive order? Governor or
40:21who?
40:22>> The governor.
40:47We still owe Chuck the severance pay.
40:59The transcript
41:04receive
41:05making sure
41:16why you go to the court and pay that
41:18many. Okay, this is your severance pay.
41:22Then if you want to apply again, apply.
41:26Why? Why? Why? Why call all this?
41:29>> It was transparency and accountability.
41:39We would still have the same
41:41conversation today. I think the
41:43conversation would still be the same.
41:54I would still be held accountable.
42:10What happened? Uh
42:13Omar
42:14>> uh Omar stepped down. He is running for
42:16office for
42:19so he decided to uh step down at focus.
42:28>> One more question.
42:31You own the Echart.
43:00foreign
43:13now I relay to you
43:18now it's clear you don't
43:21thank you chairman
43:40Transcript number
43:44five.
43:48Settlement agreement and release.
43:56Exhibit six.
43:59Yeah.
44:04Um [clears throat and cough]
44:22CEO,
44:42CEO,
44:48Executive Order.
44:51CEO
45:11as a
45:13CEO. Yes, I have removed um Chuck from
45:17the career service
45:36in accordance with the executive order.
45:38So Chuck is no longer career service. He
45:40is now under a contract uh for two
45:44years.
45:45>> Okay. So,
46:01employment contract
46:04as a CEO
46:07>> as a COO
46:21>> May of uh last last year
46:26>> May 25
46:27>> 25 Yes.
46:40>> Sorry.
46:50Yeah.
46:552024
46:57October of
47:07as a CEO.
47:09So
47:16CEO
47:222025
47:33CEO,
47:35right?
47:43CEO
47:53three years.
48:02Yes. Yeah.
48:13CEO
48:16According
48:18to
48:25later on down the road,
48:36New administration came on board
48:42authority
48:56CEO position
49:00position
49:02authority to keep them um there.
49:05agreement.
49:14The board wishes to I think it's the
49:17first uh the first page um based off on
49:20the governor's priority
49:27to
49:29um to COO the chief of operations
49:35Okay. Um
49:47yeah,
50:03exhibit six or settlement agreement and
50:06agree.
50:14Yeah.
50:42I am CEO.
50:50for
51:03the love of
51:11terms
51:16reference. Exhibit six.
51:34Exhibit
51:44Career Service.
51:49Career Service,
51:52>> Chief Operation Officer,
52:15CEO
52:17CEO
52:21authority. Yes. CEO
52:28CEO
52:30CEO
52:37Career Service
52:58Career service
53:00contract for two years.
53:14Executive order.
53:28career service.
53:36>> Okay.
53:51Rules and regulations, administrative
53:53code,
53:59career service.
54:02Yeah.
54:32uh temporary
54:34status.
54:37The probationary status is
54:39>> probation.
54:40>> Yeah, he's he was not on probation.
54:48Yeah.
54:55Career service contract career service
55:03of last year. Yeah.
55:16Career service probationary period.
55:30Yeah,ch.
55:59Congratul
56:22Yeah.
56:35Okay.
56:48Servants pay child support.
57:12have time.
57:13Um
57:18refer
57:50It's a personal obligation.
58:05COVID
58:11failure. In exchange,
58:14you take that position in exchange.
58:28Five time. Um
58:40Fore! Foreign! Foreign!
59:01Forever
59:29winger.
59:31Executive
59:33directors.
59:58It wasn't a trade.
1:00:20Telecommunication.
1:00:39Therefore,
1:01:10CEO. for
1:01:38without any reason. Yeah. They have to
1:01:41pay a service paid.
1:01:59I always work in a in a corporate
1:02:01corporate office.
1:02:05for
1:02:20the money immediately trigger.
1:02:38Career service.
1:02:42Career service.
1:02:57Service
1:02:59probation.
1:03:40Certificate identification.
1:04:05bottom line. Um,
1:04:08governor
1:04:14settlement.
1:04:25I thinking anybody can do that. Uh,
1:04:27allow in that situations. I I thought
1:04:31that could be an option for me to go
1:04:33back. If he say no, no is no. But when
1:04:36he accepted my request,
1:04:48for
1:05:11CEO.
1:05:41Career service.
1:05:53Excuse.
1:06:11Okay.
1:06:13Yeah.
1:06:20Yes.
1:06:36same year
1:06:41service.
1:06:54Service
1:07:11Pardon negotiation
1:07:19terms.
1:07:39Career service. Career service.
1:07:43Career service.
1:07:46Career service.
1:08:06This is
1:08:13Yeah.
1:08:56Yeah, it was for your name
1:09:00for
1:09:04Yeah.
1:09:28Exhib.
1:09:33report.
1:09:46Yeah.
1:09:48Report.
1:09:51[clears throat]
1:10:05Yeah.
1:10:23Yeah.
1:10:26Final committee.
1:11:02Yeah. Yeah.
1:11:14[clears throat]
1:11:36Forever
1:11:48lover.
1:12:04Foreign
1:12:17speech. Foreign speech. Foreign speech.
1:12:26Foreign
1:12:29speech. Foreign speech. Foreign speech.
1:12:39Foreign