Hawaiʻi has had its fair share of high-profile public corruption cases in the last decade: the Kealohas, J. Kalani English and Ty Cullen.
Those cases involving a former Honolulu police chief and former state lawmakers dominated the headlines and are credited, in part, to Federal Bureau of Investigation probes in recent years.
In January, the FBI announced David Porter as the new special agent in charge of the Honolulu Field Office. Porter previously served as the chief of staff for the deputy director at FBI Headquarters in Washington, D.C., and first joined the FBI in 2006. He also has experience as a corporate litigation attorney, according to a press release.
He took over from Steven Merrill, who served 33 years in the FBI and joined the Honolulu office back in 2021. Merrill is now the University of Hawaiʻi's first-ever director of emergency management.
Porter told HPR that he first fell in love with Hawaiʻi while on vacation with his family. He said the Hawaiʻi post was the only SAC job that he applied for.
"I love everything about this place, the culture, of course, it's gorgeous, right, and the diversity that's here of people from all over the world," he said. "But certainly blessed towards the end of my last headquarters stint to see that this was a distinct possibility, with Steven Merrill, the previous special agent in charge for this office here in Honolulu, leaning towards retirement, and the timing worked out."
He said that some of the FBI's nationwide priorities include combating violent crime, improving organizational accountability, and rebuilding and maintaining public trust.
The Honolulu Field Office covers Hawaiʻi, Guam, American Samoa, and the Northern Mariana Islands.
"We have a very unique area of responsibility here, obviously being in the Pacific, and where we are located, and the significant military presence that is here, and then the normal sets of sort of national security concerns," he said.
"I'm here because I want to be, I very much want to be. This is my home now, and I'm committed to waking up every day to protecting the American people that live here, and upholding the Constitution here, and protecting our children from online predators here, and working to secure faith and trust in public servants here. Those things are very important to me, and I know they're important to our communities," he told HPR.
This story aired on The Conversation on June 9, 2025. The Conversation airs weekdays at 11 a.m. Tori DeJournett adapted this story for the web.
