OHA head Kamana‘opono Crabbe sent a remarkable letter (PDF) this week to US Secretary of State John Kerry, requesting a formal legal opinion on the continued sovereignty of the Hawaiian kingdom. Crabbe says in the letter that he will seek to slow down the nation-building process until Kerry can respond that sovereignty has ceased, “and that we, as individuals, have not incurred any criminal liability in this pursuit.”

Update:

OHA has rescinded the letter. From the Star-Advertiser:

Trustee chairwoman Colette Machado said trustees were surprised and taken aback when they read the letter this morning. She said it was written without their knowledge and the content of the letter does not reflect the position of OHA or the trustees.

“We were totally caught off-guard,” she said.

It’ll be surprising if Crabbe is still in his job on Monday.