Becerra “...sided with powerful interest groups, including law enforcement and fossil fuel companies”

CALIFORNIA – Xavier Becerra’s history of taking money from special interests and then doing their bidding is on full display in an in-depth new KQED report. 

In it, key details of Becerra’s time as Attorney General expose a pattern of incompetence and corruption surrounding his “complicated record in California,” including:

• Blocking transparency and accountability, including how Becerra “showed a hostility toward a free press, a misunderstanding of basic First Amendment law, and a willingness to kowtow to law enforcement groups.” This includes his “extreme” efforts to block records of 12,000 current and former police officers who had been convicted of sexual assault and other serious crimes – by threatening journalists.
• Doing Big Oil’s bidding, showing how Becerra “stayed mum” on an investigation into ExxonMobil, took a maximum contribution from Chevron, and is pro-drilling in Kern County – all efforts supported byBig Oil consortium that contributed $500,000 to a pro-Becerra independent expenditure last week.
• Becerra’s record of “building less, blocking more” – highlighting the ways in which he stood in the way of pro-housing efforts key to bringing down costs for California families. 

“Time after time, Xavier Becerra has shown he is willing to put corporate interests over the interests of California families,” said Steyer for Governor spokesperson Anthony York. “Californians deserve better from our next governor.”

Excerpts of the full piece are below. Read the full article here:

…As attorney general, Becerra declined to investigate oil companies accused of misleading investors and the public on climate change. And perhaps most notably, Becerra’s office went to court to fight against the release of police misconduct records following California’s passage of a landmark transparency law — and once threatened journalists with criminal charges for possessing records his office had sent them.

“Xavier Becerra just seems to reflexively have been against any of these measures to improve transparency into police records,” said Jason Paladino, one of the reporters threatened by Becerra’s office. “When you look at the fact that one of his major backers throughout his campaigns has been the police unions, it’s hard to not make that connection that he’s got this powerful constituency in the state, which he feels somewhat beholden to.”

…critics say Becerra struck a cautious tone and was unwilling to buck the status quo.

That includes environmentalists’ critiques of how he handled the fossil fuel industry.

“His time as attorney general was a story of what he didn’t do,” said Kassie Siegel, climate political director at the Center for Biological Diversity Action Fund. 

…Becerra received heat for several incidents involving law enforcement, including his refusal to investigate a police shooting in Vallejo — a case his successor later pursued — and his failure to probe a jailhouse informant scandal in Orange County that led to a federal investigation and settlement.

But it was his legal battle against Senate Bill 1421 that drew the sharpest criticism from within his own party. The state law, passed in 2018 after years of advocacy by civil liberties groups and Democratic lawmakers, made public for the first time the disciplinary records of police officers accused of sexual assault, use of force and other serious misconduct.

After the law took effect, the attorney general’s office didn’t just refuse to release its own records — questioning whether the law applied to records created before the law’s passage — it also sent guidance to law enforcement agencies that critics say gave police departments across California cover to refuse compliance, too.

…“It was just an extreme position to take,” said David Snyder, executive director of the First Amendment Coalition, which successfully sued Becerra and other police agencies, along with media organizations including KQED. “That office really fought tooth and nail to keep many of the records under lock and key.”

Becerra’s office shocked legal experts again when it sent a letter to two journalists at UC Berkeley’s Investigative Reporting Program ordering them to destroy a list of 12,000 current and former police officers and applicants who had been convicted of crimes.

The list was provided to the reporters by Becerra’s own office and another state agency in response to a public records request. In the letter, the attorney general argued that even possessing the records was a criminal act.

“It’s either clear ignorance of a core First Amendment principle, or it’s willful disregard of it. Neither of those, I think reflect very well,” Snyder said.

…But Paladino, one of those reporters, said the letter was concerning for numerous reasons: He argued it showed a hostility toward a free press, a misunderstanding of basic First Amendment law, and a willingness to kowtow to law enforcement groups.

…In the governor’s race…he’s been hit by opponents over his ties to oil companies, with billionaire Tom Steyer in particular attacking Becerra for accepting donations from the industry, including Chevron’s $39,200 donation to his gubernatorial campaign, the maximum allowed by law. 

…But the questions about Becerra’s relationship with oil companies are unlikely to wane. Last week, the oil drilling company California Resources Corporation contributed $500,000 to an independent expenditure committee that is supporting Becerra.

Earlier, as attorney general, Becerra angered environmental activists when he stayed mum on an investigation into ExxonMobil.

…The Center for Biological Diversity gave Becerra a C+ on its environmental scorecard, noting campaign contributions from oil companies and his opposition to a proposed state law that would make fossil fuel companies pay for the effects of climate change.

Siegel also pointed to Becerra’s answer in a recent debate, where he said he would support opening up oil drilling again in Kern County — something he had opposed as attorney general.

“You have to put all the pieces together,” she said. “The environmental consequences of more oil drilling in California would be massive.”

Becerra didn’t shy away from the issue when asked by KQED’s Scott Shafer why he accepted donations from Chevron and whether he would hold big companies like them accountable as governor.

…“Chevron — that’s the problem with politics — they’re not the bad guy,” Becerra said. “Does everybody here drive an electric vehicle? You need Chevron, I need Chevron, my people of the state of California need Chevron.”

…on one of the biggest issues facing the state — the need for more housing — critics say Becerra didn’t show that type of aggression as attorney general, instead seeming more interested in blocking housing developments than helping push market-rate development.

…YIMBY Action, which endorsed Democratic billionaire Tom Steyer in the governor’s race, gave Becerra a “C” grade on housing. 

###