Is California Attorney General Rob Bonta ignoring his own ethical guidelines?
New questions are being raised about the attorney general ignoring the ethics training his office provides.
California Attorney General Rob Bonta and his wife, Assemblymember Mia Bonta, continue to be under intense scrutiny over ethics concerns after KCRA 3 reported that Mia is set to lead a budget committee that oversees Rob's budget at the Department of Justice.
New questions are being raised about the attorney general ignoring the ethics training his office provides.
The California Department of Justice, which the attorney general oversees, offers an ethics course to state officials. Ethics training is required of state officials within six months of being hired, according to the AG's office. The course provided by the Department of Justice takes about an hour and a half.
KCRA 3's Ashley Zavala began the training course Wednesday. One of the first slides of the course reads: "Public servants are required to serve the public’s interest – they cannot use their public positions to serve private or political interests."
Another says, "Remember that the public's trust in government is based not only on public officials' compliance with ethics laws, but also on the perception of whether officials are acting properly."
Another says, "Maintaining high ethical standards will ensure that you do the right thing – not just what is legally required. Sometimes a course of action that is legal will still not be the most ethical."
The first quiz in the training asks a series of questions on ethics and later provides the correct answer:
Ethics quiz
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"A leader should resolve ethical questions independently and disregard the public's perception of what is ethically appropriate: False."
"In resolving an ethical dilemma, the official should balance the personal costs of the decision against the public good: False."
"If a particular course of action is legal, that means it's automatically ethical - False."
"Being ethical means being willing to do the right thing, even when there will be a personal cost: True."
"It seems to me the attorney general has either not read his ethical guidelines or has not followed them," said Bob Stern, former general counsel to California's Fair Political Practices Commission.
Neither Assemblymember Mia Bonta nor Attorney General Rob Bonta responded to requests for comment for this story.
KCRA 3 has reached out to every single member of the California Legislature to weigh in on whether it is ethical for the assembly member to oversee her husband's budget. The full results will be released Thursday afternoon.
Assemblyman Joe Patterson, a Republican who serves on the Public Safety Budget Committee with Bonta, told KCRA 3 it's not ethical.
“Irrespective of her ability to remain fair and impartial, the reality is there is a risk that the public may lose trust in its ability to provide fair and transparent oversight of our government agencies,” he said.
Sen. Steven Bradford, D-Gardena, said he has "absolutely no concern" with Assemblymember Bonta serving as chair of the committee.
"Assembly Member Bonta is a committed public servant and has a high level of intellect and integrity," he said. "To suggest that she would play favorites to influence budget policy in favor of the Attorney General shows a lack of understanding of the budget process and is a slap in the face to one of the most qualified and ethical members of the Legislature."
Gov. Gavin Newsom was also asked by KCRA 3 whether it is ethical for the assembly member to oversee her husband's budget. He said that he was unaware of the situation prior to being asked about it.
https://www.kcra.com/amp/article/is-california-attorney-general-rob-bonta-ignoring-his-own-ethical-guidelines/42941054