California Atty. Gen. Rob Bonta spent nearly $500,000 in campaign funds on a personal lawyer to represent him last year as he faced federal investigators over corruption allegations in Oakland.
Bonta paid the law firm Wilson Sonsini Goodrich & Rosati about $468,000 last year from his 2026 re-election campaign, according to campaign finance disclosures filed with the state.
Dan Newman, Bonta’s political consultant, said the attorney general was approached by federal investigators because he was considered a “possible victim” in a corruption scandal involving a former Oakland mayor and Bay Area business executive.
“His sole role was to provide information and assist the investigation,” Newman said.
“This was all completed in 2024, over a year ago, and the AG’s involvement is over,” Newman said.
The payments to Mr. Bonta’s legal team were first reported by KCRA-TV in Sacramento.
In January, the U.S. Department of Justice indicted former Oakland Mayor Sheng Thao over an alleged bribery scheme involving local businessmen David Trung Duong and Andy Hung Duong.
Tao ran for Oakland mayor in 2022, but was recalled from office by city voters in 2024 due to growing voter dissatisfaction with crime and the city’s financial woes. She was arrested by the FBI in early 2025.
According to the indictment, Thao, then a mayoral candidate, engaged in a quid pro quo scheme with the Duong brothers, promising to take formal action as mayor to support recycling and modular housing projects.
The Duong brothers and Mr. Thao have pleaded not guilty.
The San Jose Mercury News reported that campaign finance regulators were also scrutinizing Andy Duong. The Duong family considered Bonta a political ally, the paper said.
Governor Gavin Newsom selected Bonta, then a member of Congress representing the Oakland area, to serve as attorney general in 2021 to serve out the unexpired term of Xavier Becerra, President Biden’s nominee for U.S. Secretary of Health and Human Services.
Bonta has emerged as a central figure in California’s fight against President Trump, filing dozens of lawsuits against the Trump administration.
Bonta ultimately returned $155,000 in campaign funds from the Duong family after the federal investigation became public, according to multiple reports.
Mr. Newman, Mr. Bonta’s consultant, said the attorney general was ultimately determined not to be the victim in the case. Asked why so much money was spent on lawyers, he said multiple lawyers worked over several months.
Representatives from the U.S. Attorney’s Office declined to comment on Newman’s claims.
