Honolulu Managing Director Roy Amemiya testified before a federal grand jury Thursday, but his attorney said he is not the target of any federal investigation.

Amemiya, Mayor Kirk Caldwell’s second-in-command, is the highest-ranking person from Caldwell’s staff to be entangled in a federal investigation. And while he did not receive a target letter, both the city and Amemiya’s attorney confirmed he received a “subject letter.”

According to the U.S. Department of Justice manual, a person who receives a target letter “is a person as to whom the prosecutor or the grand jury has substantial evidence linking him or her to the commission of a crime.” A subject letter is sent to a person “whose conduct is within the scope of the grand jury’s investigation,” the manual said.

It implies that prosecutors do not have sufficient evidence to link him or her to a crime, but want to bring in the person to obtain more information. But the manual also points out that it is Justice Department policy to advise both targets and subjects of an investigation of their right to invoke their Fifth Amendment privilege against self-incrimination, suggesting there’s a possibility someone who is a subject could at some point become a target.

Lyle Hosoda, Amemiya’s attorney, downplayed Amemiya’s receipt of a subject letter. “The ‘subject’ of an investigation is a person whose conduct is within the scope of the investigation,” he said Friday. “His designation as a ‘subject’ is not a surprise, given that Mr. Amemiya is a high-level city official.”

Hosoda stressed that “Mr. Ame­miya is not a target of the federal investigation and has not been accused of committing any crime.”

Addison Bonner, Hosoda’s law partner, declined to say whether Amemiya invoked his Fifth Amendment privilege.

City Corporation Counsel Donna Leong, who like Amemiya is a Caldwell appointee, has been on paid leave since January 2019 after she received a federal target letter tied to the criminal case that focused on the investigation that led to the indictments and convictions of former Police Chief Louis Kealoha and former Deputy Prosecuting Attorney Katherine Kealoha.

Amemiya’s grand jury appearance is believed to be tied to that case.

Elected Honolulu Prosecuting Attorney Keith Kaneshiro is on paid leave after he received a federal target letter, presumably tied to an offshoot of the Kealohas’ investigation. First Deputy Prosecuting Attorney Chasid Sapolu, appointed by Kaneshiro, went on paid leave in March 2019 after he received a subject letter.

Hosoda said that he is confirming the information about Amemiya’s appearance only because of media inquiries. Amemiya will not divulge the nature of his testimony or any other details of the investigation, Hosoda said.

“Now that his connection to the federal investigation has been reported by others, this statement is being provided to dispel any speculation or rumors and is in the interest of transparency,” Hosoda said.

Caldwell, in announcing Leong’s leave in January 2019, told reporters that the target letter she received involved her role in the agreement between Louis Kealoha and the Honolulu Police Commission allowing the embattled chief to retire with benefits, including a $250,000 payout.

Leong and then-commission Chairman Max Sword negotiated the separation package with Kealoha on behalf of the panel, which approved it by a 5-1 vote in January 2017. The exact source of the payout was never disclosed, an issue raised by several commissioners at the time. Meanwhile, then-HPD acting Chief Cary Okimoto and then- Deputy Chief William Axt raised concerns at a February 2017 commission meeting that the money would be taken from funding sources already dedicated to department operations. Okimoto said top HPD brass were not consulted about the payment.

William McCorriston, Sword’s attorney, confirmed that his client appeared for questioning before a grand jury Thursday, but declined to answer other questions.

Alexander Zannes, Caldwell’s communications director, said in a statement that the mayor could not comment on an ongoing investigation.

To his knowledge, neither Amemiya nor anyone at the city besides Leong has received a target letter, Zannes said, adding that the administration knew of no one else employed by the city who has received a subject letter besides Amemiya.

The managing director is appointed by the mayor and typically runs day-to-day operations of the city administration.

Amemiya is a cousin of Honolulu mayoral candidate Keith Amemiya.