Could This Major Scandal Tank Gavin Newsom's Presidential Ambitions?

The latest scandal brewing in the once-Golden State perfectly illustrates why Democrats can't be trusted with power. 

RedState's Bob Hoge reported earlier this month that Los Angeles Mayor Karen Bass claimed she couldn't produce text messages about the Palisades Fire because of a convenient 30-day auto-delete setting. She could have gotten away with it, too, if it hadn’t been for other officials who still had their copies of those supposedly vanished conversations.

Oops.

But this isn't just about Bass covering up her text messages. The rot of secrecy goes straight to the top, where Governor Gavin Newsom’s transparency dodges rival those of Hillary Clinton. It turns out that he’s also refusing to hand over emails and texts about his management (or should I say mismanagement) of the Palisades wildfires.

His excuse? He claims he’s exempt from disclosure laws. The problem with that explanation is that he’s wrong. 

Section 7920.530 of the California Government Code explicitly defines exactly what constitutes a public record, and it directly contradicts Newsom’s claim.

(a) As used in this division, “public records” includes any writing containing information relating to the conduct of the public’s business prepared, owned, used, or retained by any state or local agency regardless of physical form or characteristics.

(b) “Public records” in the custody of, or maintained by, the Governor’s office means any writing prepared on or after January 6, 1975.

Ask yourself the following question: If a public official claims to be exempt from disclosure laws when he or she is not, what does that tell you? It tells me that they are hiding something, and if you disagree, you’re way too trusting of government officials.

Another big problem from Newsom is that the California Public Records Act has defined procedures for denying requests for public records that one believes are exempt. Newsom isn’t following that procedure either.

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“The CPRA requires officials/agencies to clearly state which exemption applies to the records requested; the presumption is that all public records - including those that might be on private accounts or devices - are to be produced unless the agency/official can clearly articulate which exemption applies and why. Newsom doesn't even do that,” explains Jennifer Van Laar over at our sister site RedState. “And, the California Constitution was amended in 2004 by the voters (Proposition 59) to add the ‘Sunshine’ amendment,” which dictates that the people “have the right of access to information concerning the conduct of the people’s business, and, therefore, the meetings of public bodies and the writings of public officials and agencies shall be open to public scrutiny.”

But Newsom's administration treats transparency laws as optional guidelines. They've established a pattern of stonewalling California Public Records Act requests, frequently hiding behind vague "security concerns" to keep the governor's travel details—and expenses—under wraps. 

The governor's office can't even follow basic legal procedures, failing to cite specific exemptions when denying records requests—a clear requirement under the law. 

What's particularly rich is that these records requirements apply to communications on both public and private devices. Somehow, Gavin Newsom keeps finding new ways to dodge his obligation to the public. We’ve seen Democrats do this before. Joe Biden and Barack Obama had secret email addresses, and Hillary Clinton had her private email server.

We know that Newsom has presidential ambitions, which is why his desperate attempt to cover up his communications relating to the Palisades wildfire is something we can’t ignore or let go. 

We at PJ Media will make sure Newsom’s incompetence and corruption doesn’t get swept under the rug before he runs for president. Help us keep the pressure on by becoming a PJ Media VIP. Your support helps keep us running. Join PJ Media VIP today using code FIGHT for 60% off and get exclusive content, ad-free browsing, and commenting privileges. Don't let them silence conservative voices—sign up now and help us keep holding the corrupt establishment accountable!