California Attorney General Rob Bonta’s campaign on Tuesday clarified that the nearly half a million dollars it spent on legal services and fees were for Bonta to have legal counsel as authorities asked him for information during a federal bribery investigation. Campaign finance records show the $468,000 his 2026 reelection campaign paid to the law firm Wilson, Sonsini, Goodrich & Rosati represents a historic amount of money spent on legal help by any candidate running for statewide office in California. When KCRA 3 first reported the expense on Monday, Bonta’s campaign claimed the money was meant to “help” federal investigators in their probe that resulted in the indictment of the ex-mayor of Oakland and the Duong family, who were Bonta’s donors. KCRA 3 followed up on Tuesday, pressing the campaign on whether that was a permissible use of campaign funds and specifics around the legal expenses. Dan Newman, Bonta’s reelection campaign adviser, then confirmed Bonta used the money to hire attorneys to help him as he answered questions from federal investigators. Newman said Bonta is not and was never a target of the investigation and said the use of funds was “absolutely proper.” He said it was necessary to use campaign funds “because of the nature of the charges against the people implicated.” Newman confirmed the money was not used to help his wife, Assemblymember Mia Bonta. He also stated Bonta’s involvement in the investigation is over. Newman confirmed that the $468,000 has not been used for any other legal issues or for any person’s benefit or defense. He said it has not been used on any settlements, which he noted would be a matter of public record. Andy and David Duong were indicted in January as part of the federal investigation. Campaign finance records show the two donated a total of $24,300 to Bonta’s 2026 Attorney General campaign. The Duong family politically donated $155,000 to him overall. Bonta’s campaign has said he returned the money after the federal investigation was made public. Shery Yang, a spokesperson for California’s Fair Political Practices Commission, would not say if Bonta’s use of campaign funds for the legal expenses in this situation is allowed under state law. She pointed to a list of permissible legal services, including action to halt defamation, defense of an action for violation of state or local campaign, disclosure, or election laws, plus litigation related to ballot language and election recounts. Loyola School of Law Professor Jessica Levinson noted it’s standard for the FPPC to not immediately state if expenses are permissible. She noted the only way to get a determination would be if someone were to file a complaint with the commission. “In this case, the only connection I can see between the Attorney General’s election and the legal investigation proceedings would be whether or not the investigation began with the Duongs’ donations to the AG account,” Levinson said. Bonta’s legal fees this year are the most spent by any of California’s statewide office holders, according to campaign finance records. Aside from the funds used in the federal investigation, Bonta has spent about $50,000 for standard campaign legal services over the past year to Nossaman LLP. In 2021, Gov. Gavin Newsom’s campaign spent the most in a year, with $296,000 during his recall. Lt. Gov. Eleni Kounalakis’ campaign has spent $240,000 in legal services since 2017, and U.S. Senator Alex Padilla’s campaigns spent $244,000 between 2015 and 2022. Since 2015, Insurance Commissioner Ricardo Lara’s campaigns have spent $321,500 total on legal services, while State Treasurer Fiona Ma has spent a total of $260,000. See more coverage of top California stories here | Download our app | Subscribe to our morning newsletter | Find us on YouTube here and subscribe to our channel
SACRAMENTO, Calif. —
California Attorney General Rob Bonta’s campaign on Tuesday clarified that the nearly half a million dollars it spent on legal services and fees were for Bonta to have legal counsel as authorities asked him for information during a federal bribery investigation.
Campaign finance records show the $468,000 his 2026 reelection campaign paid to the law firm Wilson, Sonsini, Goodrich & Rosati represents a historic amount of money spent on legal help by any candidate running for statewide office in California.
When KCRA 3 first reported the expense on Monday, Bonta’s campaign claimed the money was meant to “help” federal investigators in their probe that resulted in the indictment of the ex-mayor of Oakland and the Duong family, who were Bonta’s donors.
KCRA 3 followed up on Tuesday, pressing the campaign on whether that was a permissible use of campaign funds and specifics around the legal expenses. Dan Newman, Bonta’s reelection campaign adviser, then confirmed Bonta used the money to hire attorneys to help him as he answered questions from federal investigators.
Newman said Bonta is not and was never a target of the investigation and said the use of funds was “absolutely proper.” He said it was necessary to use campaign funds “because of the nature of the charges against the people implicated.”
Newman confirmed the money was not used to help his wife, Assemblymember Mia Bonta. He also stated Bonta’s involvement in the investigation is over.
Newman confirmed that the $468,000 has not been used for any other legal issues or for any person’s benefit or defense. He said it has not been used on any settlements, which he noted would be a matter of public record.
Andy and David Duong were indicted in January as part of the federal investigation. Campaign finance records show the two donated a total of $24,300 to Bonta’s 2026 Attorney General campaign. The Duong family politically donated $155,000 to him overall. Bonta’s campaign has said he returned the money after the federal investigation was made public.
Shery Yang, a spokesperson for California’s Fair Political Practices Commission, would not say if Bonta’s use of campaign funds for the legal expenses in this situation is allowed under state law. She pointed to a list of permissible legal services, including action to halt defamation, defense of an action for violation of state or local campaign, disclosure, or election laws, plus litigation related to ballot language and election recounts.
Loyola School of Law Professor Jessica Levinson noted it’s standard for the FPPC to not immediately state if expenses are permissible. She noted the only way to get a determination would be if someone were to file a complaint with the commission.
“In this case, the only connection I can see between the Attorney General’s election and the legal investigation proceedings would be whether or not the investigation began with the Duongs’ donations to the AG account,” Levinson said.
Bonta’s legal fees this year are the most spent by any of California’s statewide office holders, according to campaign finance records. Aside from the funds used in the federal investigation, Bonta has spent about $50,000 for standard campaign legal services over the past year to Nossaman LLP.
In 2021, Gov. Gavin Newsom’s campaign spent the most in a year, with $296,000 during his recall. Lt. Gov. Eleni Kounalakis’ campaign has spent $240,000 in legal services since 2017, and U.S. Senator Alex Padilla’s campaigns spent $244,000 between 2015 and 2022. Since 2015, Insurance Commissioner Ricardo Lara’s campaigns have spent $321,500 total on legal services, while State Treasurer Fiona Ma has spent a total of $260,000.
See more coverage of top California stories here | Download our app | Subscribe to our morning newsletter | Find us on YouTube here and subscribe to our channel