The Los Angeles Times (The New York Times) is suing the city, with Karen Bass allegedly removing text in his reaction to California wildfires.
Local officials’ handling of the crisis has been widely condemned as Prosecuting the California governmentespecially when Bass was sworn in when the Parisade fire broke out on January 7, Bass was sworn in. The mayor did not return to Los Angeles until January 8.
The Times sued the city of Los Angeles Thursday, accusing officials of hiding and deleting the mayor’s text messages and other records during the wildfire, violating the law.
In a news article about this article’s own lawsuit, Sonja Sharp, a staff worker at The Times Report“New York City has addressed many exchanges between Mayor Karen Bass and other officials sought by Times reporters. But officials believe they are not forced to do so under the state public record law.”
“The times disagree,” Sharp wrote. “Authorizes public officials to scrub records or determine which precedents are dangerous, Thursday’s lawsuit argues.”
The administration of Los Angeles Mayor Karen Bass is now sued by the Los Angeles Times. (AP Photo/Richard Vogel)
“It’s bigger than these text messages,” said Kelly Aviles. “The city seems to think they can destroy everything they want at any time and have no responsibility to the public to keep public records.”
The Times reported that the mayor’s office initially said that the text had been deleted, “finally said it was able to recover deleted texts, providing about 125 messages last week, noting that other unspecified messages were “deleted and/or used,” under the exemption to the law.
The mayor’s attorney David Michaelson told Times reporter Julia Wick that the so-called “ephemeral” texts were beyond the scope of the California Public Records Act and “cited a 1981 Supreme Court decision that included free-frame ideas and random information on the record request.”
But the Times lawyers believe this does not apply to texts and other electronic communications.
La Mayor Karen Bass recently admitted that she regretted being in Ghana while wildfires broke out in her city. (AP/Getty)
“The city’s obvious position is that officials can delete text communications at any time as ‘short” until receiving a request for public records would undermine the presumption of access to public records,” the Times lawsuit said. “A public official will do to avoid public scrutiny, which is to destroy the text immediately after they are created.”
The Times also reported that these are not the only records that have been destroyed, nor are they still being actively pursued by journalists.
Investigative journalist Alene Tchekmedyian is said to seek “emails, text messages, reports, planning documents and memos from the then LA FIRE – about Fire Protection Programs and ePloyment Resources” Chief Kristin Crowley and her subordinates.
Similarly, City Hall journalist David Zahniser reportedly petitioned “a copy of emergency preparation, strong winds, wildfires, wildfire conditions and a National Weather Service.”
“Zahniser received some records but did not get the text messages he requested. Tchekmedyian’s request was closed and no communication was provided,” the Times said.
Los Angeles Mayor Karen Bass has been criticized for the city’s reaction to wildfires. (Photo taken by Apu Gomes/Getty Images | Alberto Rodriguez/Variety via Getty Images)
Click here to get the Fox News app
Michaelson told Fox News Numbers In an email, “The mayor’s office has responded to hundreds of public record requests since its election, and we will continue to do so. The mayor’s office released a responsive text to the Times’ PRA request last week, which will continue to respond to public record requests.”
Fox News Digital also commented from the Los Angeles Times and City Attorneys, but received no immediate answer.
Stephen Sorace of Fox News contributed to the report.
