California Attorney General Rob Bonta doesn’t shy away from the spotlight. Whether it’s genetics or simply the nature of political life, elected officials tend to remind constituents constantly of the work they’re doing on the public’s behalf — and few in California do it as relentlessly as Bonta.
Governor Gavin Newsom, of course, is no stranger to self-promotion. His office churns out a steady stream of press releases, videos and social media posts touting his accomplishments, an output that has only intensified as his final year in office approaches and speculation mounts about a possible presidential run.
But when it comes to sheer volume of self-congratulatory messaging, Bonta may have even Newsom beat.
Rarely does a day go by without Bonta’s communications staff issuing some kind of announcement — a press release, a social media post, a video — highlighting an achievement by the attorney general, who brands himself as “the People’s Attorney” fighting for justice on behalf of all Californians.
His office has issued nearly 500 press releases so far this year alone, not counting the additional messaging spread across other platforms.
This week, Bonta has been especially visible during a high-profile trial in Oakland, where California and three other states are suing Meta, the parent company of Instagram and Facebook, over allegations that the company intentionally designed its platforms to be addictive to young users. According to Bonta deputy Megan O’Neill, who delivered the opening statement, Meta sought to “hold them for as long as they can, harvest their data and hide the truth from the public.”
As the trial got underway Tuesday, Bonta posted a video outside the courtroom — notably on Facebook, one of the platforms at the center of the lawsuit — stating that his office was working to prove Meta had “designed and deployed harmful features on Instagram and Facebook that lead young users to compulsive use.”
Despite this steady stream of content, much of it never makes it into serious news coverage, largely because it amounts to self-promotion rather than substantive news.
That raises an interesting question: In his more than five years as attorney general, has Bonta’s office ever actually lost a case?
Occasionally, his office will acknowledge a legal setback, criticize the court’s decision, defend the state’s position and vow to appeal. But such admissions are few and far between, and outright losses are almost never candidly discussed.
That’s where what’s known as a “claims bill” comes in. These are pieces of legislation, typically drafted by the attorney general’s office, that authorize state funds to pay out settlements or judgments in cases the state has lost. They tend to move through the Legislature with little scrutiny or public debate.
The latest claims bill, still awaiting final approval before the legislative session wraps up on Aug. 31, would set aside $7.4 million to resolve eight different cases. Among them are four lawsuits successfully brought by gun rights advocates challenging California’s firearm regulations.
Newsom, Bonta and Democratic lawmakers have pushed an extensive slate of gun control measures over the years, many unique to California. But a growing number of these laws have been struck down in court, as challengers increasingly rely on recent U.S. Supreme Court rulings affirming the Second Amendment as an individual civil right.
Two of the cases Bonta’s office lost involved concealed carry permits, while the other two challenged the state’s restrictions on marketing firearms-related products to minors — restrictions that courts found violated free speech protections.
Californians shouldn’t have to wait for a quietly passed claims bill to learn which legal battles the attorney general’s office has lost. Bonta certainly isn’t going to trumpet his own defeats. Instead, the state should follow the lead of the City of Los Angeles, which maintains a public website tracking lawsuits the city has lost and the resulting payouts.
That website currently lists more than 12,000 cases and over $1.1 billion in settlements since fiscal year 2020 — a level of transparency that stands in sharp contrast to the carefully curated image Bonta’s office presents to the public.
Original source: CalMatters
