A divisive letter to U.S. Secretary of State John Kerry asking whether the Hawaiian kingdom still exists as an independent sovereign state has drawn more fallout for the Office of Hawaiian Affairs after the state Office of Information Practices issued a legal opinion that OHA violated the state’s Sunshine Law in deciding to rescind the letter.

Following a May 5 letter to Kerry sent by OHA CEO Kama­na‘o­pono Crabbe, OHA’s trustees violated the Sunshine Law by discussing among themselves whether to send a second letter to Kerry four days later that rescinded Crabbe’s letter, OIP wrote in the opinion announced this week.

All of OHA’s nine trustees discussed whether the OHA board should respond to Crabbe’s letter "through a series of one-on-one communications, either directly or through email messages addressed to staff as mere go-betweens for board members," OIP found.

"The Trustees’ decision to jointly sign the Rescission Letter was not discussed during a noticed meeting of any sort, but instead was reached through a chain of serial communications involving the board’s full membership," OIP found. "The Sunshine Law did not allow the OHA board to use serial communications to discuss and reach agreement on the Rescission Letter outside a noticed meeting."

But OIP noted that the trustees’ communications with one another could have complied with the Sunshine Law by invoking the law’s "emergency and interactive technology meeting provision."

OHA then committed a second violation of the Sunshine Law by not allowing public oral testimony regarding a May 19 OHA board executive session that OHA called "to consider appropriate action with respect to the conduct of Dr. Crabbe."

"The Sunshine Law requires boards to accept oral testimony on every item on every agenda, including items anticipated to be discussed in executive session," OIP said. "Thus, the OHA board’s refusal to accept oral testimony on an agenda item discussed in executive session was contrary to the Sunshine Law’s requirements."

OHA spokesman Garett Kame­moto said Friday that OHA has the OIP opinion "and we’re reviewing it."

Crabbe’s letter to Kerry shook up OHA, which is financially supporting the independent Native Hawaiian Roll Commission, which is preparing and maintaining a roll of qualified Native Hawaiians to work toward the reorganization of a native government.

Crabbe has said he wanted a formal legal opinion from the Justice Department’s Office of Legal Counsel because recent diplomatic proceedings suggested OHA and its trustees may be open to criminal liability in the pursuit of a Native Hawaiian governing entity.

Crabbe also said he wanted approval from the trustees that they refrain from such activity until the Justice Department issued an opinion.

OHA Trustee Chairwoman Colette Machado previously said trustees were caught off guard by Crabbe’s letter, which she said did not reflect the position of OHA or the trustees.

Machado had said she was "dumbfounded and stunned" by Crabbe’s letter because it appeared to undercut OHA’s policy to work toward nation building.

A news release that was issued about Crabbe’s letter to Kerry indicated that Machado had approved, OIP found.

Instead, Machado then emailed "all of OHA to clarify that the press release and Crabbe Letter were sent without her support or approval," OIP found. "These communications then led to what OHA describes as ‘email messages sent to the trustees’ staff or one-on-one telephone conversations in order to obtain the trustees’ agreement to sign the Rescission Letter."