Embedded Files
08/11/2025 – The Federal Bureau of Investigation said it is already investigating criminal and national security matters in the CNMI following the local government’s request for a heightened presence of the domestic intelligence and security service of the U.S. and its principal federal law enforcement agency.
“While we cannot discuss our current investigations, our special agents continue to work diligently on criminal and national security matters in the Commonwealth of the Northern Marina Islands,” FBI assistant director Marshall Yates wrote in a May 14, 2025, response letter to Delegate Kimberlyn King-Hinds.
Her letter to the FBI, meanwhile, was prompted by a request made by the late governor Arnold I. Palacios for the FBI to help probe what he characterized as “public corruption” in the CNMI.
On behalf of FBI Director Kash Patel, Yates also wrote in his May 14, 2025, letter to King-Hinds that the FBI’s Honolulu Field Office, which covers the Northern Marianas Islands, has a permanent resident agency—called the Saipan Resident Agency—located on Saipan.
He then proceeded to invite King-Hinds and her territorial staff for a scheduled tour and briefing of the Saipan Resident Agency, “where FBI special agents proudly work every day to keep your constituents safe.”
“We hope to be able to host you and your staff at the Saipan RA in the future to discuss the FBI's work against all types of federal violations in the Northern Marianas Islands, as well as our partnerships with local law enforcement and community outreach opportunities.”
Yates added that Palacios is also familiar with the FBI’s special agents stationed at the Saipan Resident Agency and has interacted with them numerous times in the past.
In an April 24, 2025, letter to King-Hinds, Palacios, who died unexpectedly last July 23 after being airlifted to Guam, asked her to take advantage of the House Republican Conference hosting a Republicans-only lunch with Patel at the end of April.
“In furtherance of your call for all in government work together for the betterment of CNMI on important issues, I call on you to take advantage of this opportunity to underscore my administration's call for an increased FBI presence in the CNMI and undertake intensive investigations of public corruption in particular,” he wrote to the first-term congresswoman.
In the same letter, Palacios told King-Hinds that he has “considerable evidence” to provide to the FBI as soon as they resume a permanent presence in the CNMI.
“I look forward to having you work with me to ensure that our government is adhering to standards the public has every right to expect of us,” he said.
King-Hinds, in a May 1, 2025, letter to Palacios, expressed concern regarding his reference to "considerable evidence" in his possession.
“It is critically important that any evidence pertaining to public corruption be transmitted immediately to the appropriate federal authorities to ensure timely, independent, and impartial investigations. The withholding of such information could hinder ongoing or future inquiries and undermine public trust in the very institutions we seek to protect.”
King-Hinds forwarded Palacios’ letter to Patel as well as Attorney General Pamela Bondi in a May 1, 2025 letter, where she stated, “Given the seriousness of these assertions, and the importance of safeguarding the integrity of law enforcement efforts in the Commonwealth, I am referring this matter to your respective offices for appropriate review and action.”
She wrote to Patel and Bondi that it is essential that any evidence of potential criminal conduct be promptly and properly transmitted to federal authorities to ensure a thorough and impartial investigation.
Report by Mark Rabago
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