California Attorney General Rob Bonta says he was a witness in federal bribery investigation | California Politics 360
Joining us now is California Attorney General Rob Bonta. Mr. Bonta, welcome back to California Politics 360. Ashley, thanks for having me. Yeah, so Mr. Attorney General, the $468,000 total that you paid to Wilson Centini law firm, what exactly was that for in your words? Sure, and first let me just say I’d rather be talking about all of the important work we’re doing fighting Trump and all of his lawlessness and protecting Californians, but I am very happy to be here with you to talk to you about this and to be open and transparent about it. The legal fees were for representation. That was for me, my capacity as *** candidate who uh has campaigns and, and receives campaign funding and uh receives campaign donations, uh, when there was *** federal government inquiry. Um, about, um, as part of an investigation into others, and it seem they thought I might have information that was potentially relevant to their investigation, and so I wanted to make sure I responded to all of their questions and gave them all the information that they needed to assist as quickly as possible. Possible to be as helpful as possible, uh, in their efforts, maybe some of the things that I could provide would be an important puzzle piece in their investigation of others. So I hired attorneys to assist with gathering of the documents, uh, and production of all the documents that the federal government requested and Um, and they were also there as my attorneys when I went in and spoke to members of the federal government and answered all the questions that they had. So again it was in an effort to help and assist with their investigation of others, and hopefully I gave them *** puzzle piece or two that assisted them. So just to be clear, were you *** witness? Were you *** victim? Were you *** possible subject, *** target? What exactly were you in this case, if you can say? I was 1000% not *** target. I was *** potential victim in their eyes. They, they thought I may be *** victim. Um, and I certainly in, in, in the late uh understanding, *** witness who provided information that may be helpful to their investigation of other people. So, um, I was someone that they thought might have information that could assist with their investigation of other people. I was 100% not *** target. OK, you told the LA Times that you were *** victim at one point. Was that also the case? Yeah, they thought I was potentially *** victim. That was one of the first reasons that the federal government reached out to me, uh, *** victim of potential extortion or blackmail. And so with that you mentioned that you answered questions, you provided documents, but I mean you spent nearly half *** million dollars of those campaign funds campaign finance records show that is *** historic amount of money to spend. I mean all that really cost that much. Yes, uh, uh, the attorneys that I have working around the clock, uh, to be responsive, to be efficient, to be comprehensive, to be, um. Uh, completely forthcoming in all of our information that we are providing in an effort to assist and help, uh, the federal government. I, I, I will say I may have had an audible gasp, but when I saw the final, uh, legal bill, um, but these are attorneys that charge at not insignificant rates and they were working. Many hours to make sure that we were providing all the information, all the documents, um, everything that the federal government sought in our effort to be helpful and to assist them. How much did they charge, and I mean when did I guess maybe what could be helpful in understanding this amount of money is when did they start this work for you? Um, this is, it all happened pretty quickly in sort of the, the, the late summer and early fall of 2024, so it was all compressed and the the chart, the the billable rates, you can just look at any um private law firm’s website and see that there’s rates at $1000 an hour, $2000 an hour, $3000 an hour. Is that how much you were paying though? These are very high rates. Mr. Attorney General, is that how much you were paying $1000 2000 dollars, $3000? There were ranges because there were different attorneys and it’s based on experience and you know, your role in the firm and every attorney charges at *** different rate, but they were in the thousands of dollars range, yes. And did you have *** lot of documents to provide, again, I’m just, I’m just trying to make sense of this number here. Well, uh, in, in, you know, today’s age, uh, and day and age of, of technology and information, multiple devices, multiple, um, you know, computers and laptops, um, there is *** lot of places where information is stored and, you know, every one of us has *** very significant Um, data, um, uh, um, footprint, and so we wanted to make sure we looked through everything, uh, that we extracted data from every device in every place in every space so that if we had *** piece of the puzzle that could assist the federal government in their investigation of other people, then they would have it and we didn’t know, you know, what, what their investigation, uh, entailed in in all of its nuances. They, they knew our job was just to provide as much information as we could. To, uh, to them so that they could, um, if anything was helpful, then they could use it in, in their investigation. But the large amount of data, uh, the, the, the challenges of um extracting data, getting it in *** way that can be presented, reviewing it to make sure, um, you know, no one’s um. Uh, private information is is improperly disclosed and making sure that everything is, is, is transparent and forthcoming and handed over. That took time. That took hours, and we wanted to do it quickly in our effort to assist and help the federal government. OK, to move to move on from the dollar amount, you did mention that. You could have been possibly *** victim of extortion, and I do want to get your reaction to you earlier this week East Bay Insiders’s newsletter reported that one of the informants in that Oakland federal bribery investigation sent you *** letter saying the dongs had surveillance video of you in *** compromising situation. Is that true? That is not true. There is no video, and that is false. In the letter, you were also asked to investigate the dogs in your capacity as the state’s top law enforcement official. Why didn’t you, or did you, and what was your reaction to seeing that? Well, the letter read like. *** person in *** mental health crisis. And, and as it turns out, it was *** desperate person in *** desperate moment doing desperate things. You, you can see it for yourself if, if you read the letter. And so it, it was hard to To give the letter much credibility, but what I will never gamble with is somebody saying that they are at risk of harm or that their life is at risk. I could not take *** chance with that. And there were other uh. But what if true would be potential crimes that were set forth in that letter that the individual who wrote the letter was accusing others of doing. So it was important for me to get that letter over to our local law enforcement partners immediately who were best located to respond to any imminent threat, any imminent harm to protect life, to protect health, and get involved. So we worked with our law enforcement partners immediately to help address any potential threat of someone being hurt. So moving forward from this situation, I mean, will your campaign be making any more payments to private attorneys related to this matter? No, and this all happened 14 months ago. Uh, that, uh, uh, my involvement is over, has been over. It’s been over for 14 months. I provided all the information that was requested of me. I, I, I, uh, Helped and assisted in any way possible. We we spent *** lot of time reviewing documents and getting them everything that was asked for and my involvement’s over. So since my involvement’s over, there’s no reason to pay any attorneys. And just given that the payments this year were made 2 days before you announced you would not run for California governor, you would seek reelection as attorney general. This was all in February, just confirming this played no role in that decision. No. OK, are, are you still planning to stay out of the governor’s race? Well, let me first say, uh, this, I had endorsed Kamala Harris to run for governor when she was considering it, and she never entered the race, um, and then I endorsed Alex Padilla before, um, uh, he made *** final decision, and he never entered the race. So I can guarantee you that if there’s any good. The candidate that has my endorsement and is not yet in the race, they’re not getting in the race. Um, I will say this, um, I’ve been very um flattered, honored, uh, grateful for the incredible outpouring of encouragement I’ve received to uh reconsider running for governor, um, and that has meant *** lot to me to hear from those folks. So just to be clear, are you considering running for governor with that? I have nothing to announce today about um um about this issue. All right, all right, Mr. Attorney General Rob Banta, thank you so much for your time. Thanks for having me. Good to see you, Ashley. Appreciate it.
California Attorney General Rob Bonta says he was a witness in federal bribery investigation | California Politics 360
Updated: 8:25 AM PST Nov 23, 2025
In an exclusive TV interview with California Politics 360, Attorney General Rob Bonta explained why he quietly paid a private law firm nearly half a million dollars during a federal bribery investigation. KCRA 3 last week was the first to report the payments. Bonta confirmed he was a witness in his capacity as a political candidate in the investigation. He said he hired the attorneys as federal investigators asked him questions and requested information, documents and other materials from him.That federal investigation resulted in the indictment of former Oakland Mayor Sheng Thao, and some of Bonta’s political donors known as the Duong family. “They thought I was potentially a victim,” Bonta said. “That was one of the first reasons that the federal government reached out to me, a victim of potential extortion or blackmail.”Bonta clarified that later in the investigation it was determined that he was a witness. An informant in the investigation sent a letter to Bonta in 2024, warning him that the Duong family had a “compromising” video of him, which the East Bay Insider reported on Thursday. “That is not true. There is no video and that is false,” Bonta said. When California Politics 360’s Ashley Zavala pressed about the amount of money he spent on the attorneys, Bonta suggested there were multiple attorneys working for him in different roles. “The attorneys that I have had been working around the clock, to be responsive, to be efficient, to be comprehensive, to be completely forthcoming in all of our information that we were providing in an effort to assist and help,” he said. “I will say, I may have had an audible gasp when I saw the final, legal bill.” Bonta said he hired the attorneys quickly in the late summer of 2024. When asked if he was paying more than $1,000 to the attorneys he hired, Bonta said, “There were ranges because there were different attorneys, and it’s based on experience.” “Your role in the firm and every attorney charges at a different rate. But they were in the thousands of dollars range, yes,” Bonta said. Bonta also stated he had a “large volume” of information and data to provide federal investigators, which he says contributed to the attorney fees. Bonta stated the situation had no role in his announcement in February that he would not run for California governor. He would not say if he’s reconsidering.”I am very flattered, honored, grateful for the incredible outpouring of encouragement I’ve received to reconsider running for governor and that has meant a lot to me to hear from those folks,” Bonta said.Asked if he’s considering a run with that encouragement, Bonta said, “I have nothing to announce today about this.”You can watch the full interview with Attorney General Rob Bonta in the video player above.KCRA 3 Political Director Ashley Zavala reports in-depth coverage of top California politics and policy issues. She is also the host of “California Politics 360.” Get informed each Sunday at 8:30 a.m. on KCRA 3.
SACRAMENTO, Calif. —
In an exclusive TV interview with California Politics 360, Attorney General Rob Bonta explained why he quietly paid a private law firm nearly half a million dollars during a federal bribery investigation.
KCRA 3 last week was the first to report the payments. Bonta confirmed he was a witness in his capacity as a political candidate in the investigation. He said he hired the attorneys as federal investigators asked him questions and requested information, documents and other materials from him.
That federal investigation resulted in the indictment of former Oakland Mayor Sheng Thao, and some of Bonta’s political donors known as the Duong family.
“They thought I was potentially a victim,” Bonta said. “That was one of the first reasons that the federal government reached out to me, a victim of potential extortion or blackmail.”
Bonta clarified that later in the investigation it was determined that he was a witness.
An informant in the investigation sent a letter to Bonta in 2024, warning him that the Duong family had a “compromising” video of him, which the East Bay Insider reported on Thursday.
“That is not true. There is no video and that is false,” Bonta said.
When California Politics 360’s Ashley Zavala pressed about the amount of money he spent on the attorneys, Bonta suggested there were multiple attorneys working for him in different roles.
“The attorneys that I have had been working around the clock, to be responsive, to be efficient, to be comprehensive, to be completely forthcoming in all of our information that we were providing in an effort to assist and help,” he said. “I will say, I may have had an audible gasp when I saw the final, legal bill.”
Bonta said he hired the attorneys quickly in the late summer of 2024.
When asked if he was paying more than $1,000 to the attorneys he hired, Bonta said, “There were ranges because there were different attorneys, and it’s based on experience.”
“Your role in the firm and every attorney charges at a different rate. But they were in the thousands of dollars range, yes,” Bonta said.
Bonta also stated he had a “large volume” of information and data to provide federal investigators, which he says contributed to the attorney fees.
Bonta stated the situation had no role in his announcement in February that he would not run for California governor. He would not say if he’s reconsidering.
“I am very flattered, honored, grateful for the incredible outpouring of encouragement I’ve received to reconsider running for governor and that has meant a lot to me to hear from those folks,” Bonta said.
Asked if he’s considering a run with that encouragement, Bonta said, “I have nothing to announce today about this.”
You can watch the full interview with Attorney General Rob Bonta in the video player above.
KCRA 3 Political Director Ashley Zavala reports in-depth coverage of top California politics and policy issues. She is also the host of “California Politics 360.” Get informed each Sunday at 8:30 a.m. on KCRA 3.