WEBVTT - Ysabel Jurado Backtracks (10/13) 0:00:00.710 --> 0:00:02.150 KFI AM 640. 0:00:02.150 --> 0:00:06.309 You're listening to the John Kobelt Podcast on the iHeartRadio. 0:00:09.550 --> 0:00:09.690 App. 0:00:09.710 --> 0:00:12.870 KFI AM 640. More stimulating talk radio. Here we go. 0:00:12.910 --> 0:00:13.390 Another hour. 0:00:13.470 --> 0:00:17.230 John Kobelt Show. We're on until 6 o'clock after 6. 0:00:17.230 --> 0:00:20.150 We're a podcast. John Kobelt Show on demand on the 0:00:20.310 --> 0:00:23.450 iHeart app. And did I mention the moist line today? 0:00:23.489 --> 0:00:25.990 I don't think I have. Oh, I'm sorry. I'm going 0:00:26.010 --> 0:00:27.820 to sneeze. I. 0:00:30.700 --> 0:00:34.020 You know, you could, bless you, but you could turn 0:00:34.040 --> 0:00:36.059 your mic off when you sneeze. I mean, that's what 0:00:36.080 --> 0:00:36.300 I would do. 0:00:36.300 --> 0:00:38.380 You know how your brain freezes when you sneeze? 0:00:38.860 --> 0:00:39.000 Oh. 0:00:39.300 --> 0:00:39.940 Sneeze freeze. 0:00:40.300 --> 0:00:42.479 So even though you were saying, I've got to sneeze? 0:00:42.990 --> 0:00:46.010 I was paralyzed. I couldn't do anything. Okay. 0:00:46.210 --> 0:00:50.409 Moist line is 877-MOIST-86, 877-MOIST-86. You're across the hall from me. 0:00:50.450 --> 0:00:50.809 I mean, what? 0:00:51.130 --> 0:00:53.490 I watch you. You have a screen in here. 0:00:53.510 --> 0:00:55.890 You can't catch anything. Anyway, it's just. 0:00:55.910 --> 0:00:58.170 No, I'm not worried about the germs. I'm just saying 0:00:58.210 --> 0:00:59.720 that you don't have to sneeze on the air. 0:00:59.770 --> 0:01:00.170 That's all. 0:01:00.990 --> 0:01:04.530 Talkback feature on the iHeartRadio app. We're live streaming. You 0:01:04.550 --> 0:01:06.470 could have watched me sneeze live on video. 0:01:06.610 --> 0:01:08.529 Oh, that would have been exciting stuff. 0:01:08.550 --> 0:01:10.729 Yeah, then you could replay it over and over again. 0:01:11.250 --> 0:01:12.670 Live on YouTube, live on X. 0:01:12.990 --> 0:01:16.670 Subscribe, become a member on YouTube.com slash at John Covell Show. 0:01:17.220 --> 0:01:23.940 Isabel Jurado. Stupid progressive woman. Stupid L.A. City Council woman. 0:01:24.760 --> 0:01:26.320 Stupid member of the DSA. 0:01:28.180 --> 0:01:31.000 Find me... Somebody else. 0:01:32.780 --> 0:01:37.810 Who complained publicly about the feds coming in with the 0:01:37.950 --> 0:01:43.729 LAPD and cleaning up MacArthur Park and eventually arresting 28 0:01:43.730 --> 0:01:52.040 drug dealers. 28 drug dealers who have spent years pumping cocaine, heroin, fentanyl. 0:01:52.300 --> 0:01:54.180 PCP. 0:01:54.980 --> 0:02:00.760 Into... All the whacked out Nithya Raman drug addicts, the 0:02:00.780 --> 0:02:04.340 Nithya Raman voters that lay about in MacArthur Park. 0:02:08.190 --> 0:02:09.109 That's what's so crazy. 0:02:09.570 --> 0:02:14.130 These people take tremendous amount of drugs. They don't know 0:02:14.190 --> 0:02:17.750 who they are. They can't even sign their name. So 0:02:17.850 --> 0:02:21.160 the nonprofit employee puts an X at the bottom of 0:02:21.190 --> 0:02:23.380 their ballots and they all voted for Nithya Raman. 0:02:24.460 --> 0:02:25.420 And that's legal. 0:02:29.470 --> 0:02:32.320 Crack me up. I think you've been running in the news. 0:02:33.160 --> 0:02:36.240 You know, Trump is saying that California has illegal elections. 0:02:36.260 --> 0:02:39.019 Rob Bonta says there's no proof of that, blah, blah, blah. 0:02:39.600 --> 0:02:43.850 You're right, because it's legal to take passed out drug 0:02:43.970 --> 0:02:50.269 addicts and fill out ballots for them. I forgot that's 0:02:50.570 --> 0:02:55.310 legal if you work for a nonprofit. Back to Isabel Jurado. 0:02:57.100 --> 0:03:05.660 So she was upset. about the federal operation to arrest 0:03:05.660 --> 0:03:12.220 28 drug dealers. She wrote on social media, law enforcement 0:03:12.240 --> 0:03:15.940 has described the operation in Skid Row as targeting drug trafficking, 0:03:16.300 --> 0:03:19.860 but that doesn't remove the responsibility to protect residents' rights 0:03:19.940 --> 0:03:24.030 and well-being. Residents are being kept from returning to their tents, 0:03:24.130 --> 0:03:32.820 obtaining their belongings, accessing essential medications. These residents are terrorized 0:03:33.340 --> 0:03:37.580 by the drug gangs. The good guys come in for 0:03:37.620 --> 0:03:41.119 a few hours, and they're the ones bringing all kinds 0:03:41.160 --> 0:03:46.160 of unhappiness to the residents' lives? Well, Isabel Jurado got 0:03:46.580 --> 0:03:51.410 criticized pretty harshly by the few normal people left in L.A., 0:03:51.930 --> 0:03:55.670 and here's a clip of her responding to the backlash. 0:03:55.990 --> 0:03:59.010 Apparently asking whether people can get to their medication is 0:03:59.050 --> 0:04:02.340 now controversial. That's quite a reading of my statement. I'm 0:04:02.380 --> 0:04:06.380 Councilmember Isabel Jurado. Here's what I actually said. Skid Row 0:04:06.460 --> 0:04:10.880 residents deserve protection from exploitation and violence, just like any 0:04:10.960 --> 0:04:13.920 other resident in the city of L.A. They also deserve 0:04:14.040 --> 0:04:18.140 access to their medication, belonging and essential services. People who 0:04:18.200 --> 0:04:20.830 traffic dangerous drugs and prey on this community should be 0:04:20.870 --> 0:04:24.790 held accountable through due process. Protecting residents' rights does not 0:04:24.850 --> 0:04:28.630 prevent that. We can manage both. Turning questions about residents' 0:04:28.750 --> 0:04:32.570 access to medicine into, she's protecting criminals, does not make 0:04:32.610 --> 0:04:36.859 it true. My office is verifying residents' reports and asking 0:04:36.880 --> 0:04:40.799 the agencies involved for answers. If more operations are planned, 0:04:40.860 --> 0:04:46.340 we need coordination and clear safeguards for residents without compromising investigations. 0:04:46.820 --> 0:04:49.760 Asking those questions is part of my job, and I 0:04:49.820 --> 0:04:51.240 intend to keep doing it. 0:04:51.820 --> 0:04:54.870 She is below the Newsom line with IQ. She may 0:04:54.910 --> 0:04:59.870 be below the Kamala Harris line because I've estimated Newsom's 0:05:00.010 --> 0:05:03.630 IQ as 93 based on his SAT scores. And Kamala 0:05:03.690 --> 0:05:09.210 is clearly below that. I'd give her an 85. This lady, 79. 0:05:11.450 --> 0:05:11.850 Maybe 80. 0:05:11.850 --> 0:05:19.470 I don't know. But below average for IQ. Well, Isabel, 0:05:19.690 --> 0:05:21.750 you don't get it. If you're going to arrest 28 0:05:21.750 --> 0:05:25.110 drug dealers, you can't give the residents warning. This seems 0:05:25.150 --> 0:05:26.029 to be the new thing. 0:05:26.050 --> 0:05:27.290 This is like. 0:05:28.839 --> 0:05:31.700 It's like the other wacky councilwoman. What was her name? Imelda. 0:05:31.720 --> 0:05:38.550 Imelda Padilla. Imelda Padilla wanted warnings next time ICE came 0:05:38.710 --> 0:05:41.790 and did a raid and wanted Jim McDonald to report 0:05:41.830 --> 0:05:46.789 the warnings. And because he won't, Padilla and Nithya Raman 0:05:46.810 --> 0:05:47.450 want him fired. 0:05:47.950 --> 0:05:48.150 Okay? 0:05:48.400 --> 0:05:51.500 Now, here, this crazy lady, Isabel Llorado, and these are 0:05:51.520 --> 0:05:52.440 all DSA people. 0:05:53.020 --> 0:05:54.240 She wants a warning. 0:05:55.040 --> 0:05:59.320 before the feds swoop in and these many agencies, along 0:05:59.339 --> 0:06:04.000 with LAPD, you can't warn the drug dealers. These guys 0:06:04.020 --> 0:06:06.130 have been around, some have been around like 50 years. 0:06:06.150 --> 0:06:09.790 They're in their 70s and 60s and 50s. They get 0:06:09.870 --> 0:06:15.130 wind that the feds are coming in. They're going to 0:06:15.150 --> 0:06:18.890 be gone. They're going to take those stolen rental cars 0:06:20.150 --> 0:06:22.620 and they're going to be back in Mexico in less 0:06:22.660 --> 0:06:29.170 than two hours. So if you choose to live in 0:06:29.230 --> 0:06:35.230 a drug-infested neighborhood, then you can't be shocked when the 0:06:35.270 --> 0:06:37.670 feds finally come in and clean it up for you 0:06:37.710 --> 0:06:41.010 to make life better. And you can't complain that you 0:06:41.050 --> 0:06:43.170 can't get into your apartment for a few hours. 0:06:44.450 --> 0:06:45.170 That's not a thing. 0:06:45.250 --> 0:06:47.190 Yes, you can't get into your apartment for a few 0:06:47.230 --> 0:06:50.290 hours because they were going through the apartment buildings looking 0:06:50.470 --> 0:06:53.910 for the drug dealers. Some of the drug dealers were 0:06:53.990 --> 0:07:00.810 arrested in the immediate area. So that's a downside. I 0:07:00.850 --> 0:07:02.470 don't know what you did wrong in your life that 0:07:02.490 --> 0:07:04.450 you ended up in this neighborhood to begin with, but 0:07:04.490 --> 0:07:08.869 here's a consequence. You're not getting a phone call from 0:07:09.350 --> 0:07:11.730 the federal government to let you know that there's a 0:07:11.790 --> 0:07:13.510 drug dealer in the neighborhood and we're going to be 0:07:13.550 --> 0:07:16.210 shutting everything down for a few hours until we find him. 0:07:18.110 --> 0:07:19.450 But how. 0:07:20.870 --> 0:07:25.230 Isabel Harado doesn't understand this. Who elects these? It must 0:07:25.290 --> 0:07:27.890 be the drug addicts. It must be the drug dealers 0:07:28.030 --> 0:07:31.270 elect Isabel Harado and the passed out drug addicts. 0:07:33.940 --> 0:07:40.420 Dumb, dumb, dumb lady. Dumb. Below 80. I say 79. 0:07:40.420 --> 0:07:42.360 That's where I fit. So we will now have the 0:07:42.540 --> 0:07:46.140 Isabel Harado IQ line. 79. 0:07:46.140 --> 0:07:50.710 You're listening to John Cobelt on demand from KFI AM 640. 0:07:50.710 --> 0:07:54.110 Hold on. 0:07:57.470 --> 0:07:59.990 That's yesterday's list. Here we go. 0:08:01.930 --> 0:08:05.370 Now, I just played you a clip of Isabel Jurado, 0:08:05.850 --> 0:08:10.910 the idiot L.A. City Councilwoman, DSA member, who is upset 0:08:11.150 --> 0:08:15.350 that the feds and LAPD came into MacArthur Park. That's 0:08:15.550 --> 0:08:24.690 her neighborhood. And they arrested 28 longtime drug dealers. She's 0:08:24.750 --> 0:08:27.180 upset about that because some of the residents complained that 0:08:27.200 --> 0:08:30.660 they couldn't get back into their apartments. And I said 0:08:30.680 --> 0:08:33.020 she was the only one who complained. Well, that wasn't 0:08:33.080 --> 0:08:39.580 quite true. There is this group called L.A. Community Action Network, L.A. 0:08:39.700 --> 0:08:40.110 CAN. 0:08:40.950 --> 0:08:44.110 We've talked about them before. I'll refresh your memory in 0:08:44.150 --> 0:08:47.250 just a moment. But first, I want to play this report. 0:08:47.270 --> 0:08:53.240 This is cut 10. ABC7 reporter Annabelle Munoz. Oh, let 0:08:53.250 --> 0:08:57.670 me just say L.A. Community Action Network is claiming. that 0:08:57.710 --> 0:09:02.270 the Skid Row bust was a publicity stunt. Yes. 0:09:02.410 --> 0:09:05.960 Skid Row residents say many were confused and afraid as 0:09:06.100 --> 0:09:09.320 armed federal agents descended on some of their apartment buildings 0:09:09.440 --> 0:09:10.360 Thursday morning. 0:09:10.840 --> 0:09:13.120 My elderly neighbors who were terrified. 0:09:13.380 --> 0:09:16.060 Kyrie Janis says he was returning home after getting his 0:09:16.100 --> 0:09:16.720 blood drawn. 0:09:16.740 --> 0:09:18.739 I needed to get something to eat. 0:09:19.980 --> 0:09:24.500 But because of the raid, I was stranded out in 0:09:24.540 --> 0:09:24.760 the heat. 0:09:26.230 --> 0:09:26.950 For hours. 0:09:27.370 --> 0:09:30.920 I was blocked in by LAPD as I was trying 0:09:30.960 --> 0:09:31.620 to go to work. 0:09:32.200 --> 0:09:35.300 Local and federal officials held two news conferences for what 0:09:35.320 --> 0:09:38.520 they called Operation Save Skid Row, describing it as an 0:09:38.580 --> 0:09:42.359 effort to target those trafficking drugs and not unhoused Angelenos. 0:09:42.700 --> 0:09:45.020 Many of those arrested today do not live in the 0:09:45.040 --> 0:09:46.120 city of Los Angeles. 0:09:46.370 --> 0:09:49.670 Stop this for a second. You've heard about four residents, 0:09:49.710 --> 0:09:54.630 alleged residents. What you can't see... because this is audio, 0:09:55.190 --> 0:09:58.850 is they're all reading from a script. None of what 0:09:58.890 --> 0:10:04.020 they said was spontaneous. They were all holding paper in 0:10:04.080 --> 0:10:07.839 front of them and reading off the paper. So this 0:10:07.920 --> 0:10:11.660 was outrage that they wrote down and brought with them, 0:10:11.920 --> 0:10:16.640 or somebody wrote it for them, probably LA Community Action Network. 0:10:17.559 --> 0:10:21.000 They recruited people and Maybe they got paid, I don't know, 0:10:21.460 --> 0:10:23.959 to read these statements of outrage. I thought it was 0:10:23.980 --> 0:10:24.900 the most peculiar thing. 0:10:24.920 --> 0:10:26.630 I didn't catch on right away. I kept looking at 0:10:26.660 --> 0:10:28.530 the video and saying, oh my God, they're all reading. 0:10:29.170 --> 0:10:31.790 Of course they're all reading. This is one of these staged, 0:10:32.130 --> 0:10:36.449 manufactured protests. Play some more. 0:10:38.230 --> 0:10:40.550 Many of those arrested today do not live in the 0:10:40.590 --> 0:10:43.839 city of Los Angeles. They come here from outside our city, 0:10:44.030 --> 0:10:46.660 not to contribute to the community, but to exploit it. 0:10:46.920 --> 0:10:49.800 They say the operation included more than 40 search warrants, 0:10:49.860 --> 0:10:53.530 about 100 law enforcement vehicles, and 28 people charged with 0:10:53.570 --> 0:10:56.610 drug offenses. At least nine of them arrested Thursday. 0:10:56.630 --> 0:11:00.270 An army of cops shutting down an entire neighborhood for 0:11:00.309 --> 0:11:01.610 a handful of arrests. 0:11:01.690 --> 0:11:03.870 Reading. They could have made. 0:11:03.730 --> 0:11:05.179 Those arrests without the big show. 0:11:06.450 --> 0:11:07.650 But the show is the point. 0:11:07.950 --> 0:11:11.830 I'm not asking anyone to ignore drug-related harm or the 0:11:11.870 --> 0:11:13.270 devastating impact of fentanyl. 0:11:13.510 --> 0:11:16.120 Skid Row residents and members of the Los Angeles Community 0:11:16.280 --> 0:11:19.900 Action Network, LACAN, say the operation disrupted the lives of 0:11:19.940 --> 0:11:22.300 those struggling to hold on to stability. 0:11:22.679 --> 0:11:26.030 Ending the criminalization of women and people in Skid Row 0:11:26.270 --> 0:11:26.890 is what we need. 0:11:27.150 --> 0:11:27.490 We're reading. 0:11:27.510 --> 0:11:32.470 We need safe and decent permanent housing, nutritious food to eat, toilets, showers, 0:11:32.550 --> 0:11:33.430 clean streets. 0:11:33.910 --> 0:11:37.470 If you want to save Skid Row, leave the guns 0:11:37.510 --> 0:11:37.730 and the. 0:11:37.730 --> 0:11:38.460 Cops at home. 0:11:38.880 --> 0:11:39.000 L.A. 0:11:39.010 --> 0:11:42.880 Mayor Karen Bass is standing by this operation while Councilmember 0:11:42.920 --> 0:11:46.079 Isabel Jurado, who represents the district, is calling for answers 0:11:46.260 --> 0:11:49.219 over these concerns. Her office says staff was on the 0:11:49.260 --> 0:11:51.610 ground connecting people with resources. 0:11:52.470 --> 0:11:55.550 What is that? You're connecting people with resources. 0:11:55.950 --> 0:11:58.010 You couldn't get in your house for a while because 0:11:58.050 --> 0:12:01.329 they were arresting 28 drug dealers. 0:12:03.730 --> 0:12:09.660 They talk about people clinging to whatever. 0:12:09.720 --> 0:12:14.740 The 28 drug dealers are selling thousands and thousands of 0:12:14.840 --> 0:12:19.960 pounds of drugs to all the crazy, homeless, drug addict, 0:12:20.059 --> 0:12:26.500 mental patients. that disrupt these people's lives every day. But 0:12:26.520 --> 0:12:30.380 this is LA CAN, LA Community Action Network. First time 0:12:30.420 --> 0:12:32.680 I really heard about them was a few months ago, 0:12:33.200 --> 0:12:35.890 and it turns out they were getting in the way 0:12:36.650 --> 0:12:39.849 of the police whenever the police wanted to try to 0:12:40.390 --> 0:12:45.090 clean up homeless encampments, and when the police were trying 0:12:45.820 --> 0:12:50.530 to arrest the people torturing the animals. LA can shows 0:12:50.630 --> 0:12:56.210 up and interferes and then they sue the police. So 0:12:56.290 --> 0:12:59.510 the police have, the reason the police don't do anything 0:13:00.929 --> 0:13:03.589 is because LA can sues them every time they do. 0:13:07.200 --> 0:13:10.460 So this is why the police stand down because they 0:13:10.480 --> 0:13:17.589 don't want to get sued. LA can is financed. primarily 0:13:17.790 --> 0:13:23.449 by Los Angeles taxpayers in California. Los Angeles taxpayers support 0:13:23.510 --> 0:13:27.510 an agency, LACAN, whose primary job is to threaten the 0:13:27.550 --> 0:13:33.420 police with lawsuits. Every time the police, or in this 0:13:33.460 --> 0:13:37.340 case the feds, try to bust up the drug culture 0:13:37.720 --> 0:13:42.730 and arrest the drug dealers. And every time they try 0:13:42.830 --> 0:13:46.110 to clear up dangerous encampments inhabited by. 0:13:47.580 --> 0:13:48.220 Drug dealers. 0:13:51.179 --> 0:13:53.360 And every time they try to do something to stop 0:13:53.620 --> 0:13:58.520 the tortured abuse of dogs, LACAN slides in there, gets 0:13:58.570 --> 0:14:03.350 in the way, threatens lawsuits. We supply the money to 0:14:03.510 --> 0:14:06.189 LACAN the same way we supply the money to Chirla, 0:14:07.130 --> 0:14:11.130 who puts together a collection of rioters who try to 0:14:11.340 --> 0:14:21.320 kill LAPD cops and ICE agents. So when you see 0:14:21.360 --> 0:14:27.480 these groups, it's taxpayer-funded. These are anarchists who run these organizations. 0:14:30.120 --> 0:14:35.290 And all the public speeches you hear, these were all 0:14:35.350 --> 0:14:42.620 people reading from scripts. Of course, nobody in the television 0:14:42.960 --> 0:14:44.480 news business ever points. 0:14:44.340 --> 0:14:44.860 Any of this out. 0:14:46.030 --> 0:14:52.900 You're listening to John Kobelt on demand from KFI AM 640. 0:14:53.200 --> 0:14:57.680 John Kobelt show KFI AM 640 live everywhere. 0:14:57.800 --> 0:15:00.320 On the iHeartRadio app. Let's see. 0:15:00.420 --> 0:15:04.260 You can listen to us until six and then we're 0:15:04.300 --> 0:15:07.200 on the podcast. John Kobelt show on demand. Same as 0:15:07.240 --> 0:15:09.700 the radio show today. You can watch us still live 0:15:09.760 --> 0:15:11.720 on YouTube, live on X. You want to see us 0:15:11.780 --> 0:15:17.750 on video? Yeah. And Moistline is 877-MOIST-86, 877-MOIST-86. They're usually 0:15:17.770 --> 0:15:20.330 a talkback feature, and that we're going to play on Friday. 0:15:20.770 --> 0:15:27.740 And finally, Karen Bass coming on the show next Tuesday, 0:15:27.940 --> 0:15:32.940 October 20th, 5 p.m., here at the KFI Studios. Yes, 0:15:33.080 --> 0:15:39.590 Karen Bass, next Tuesday, 5 o'clock, October 20th. You set 0:15:39.630 --> 0:15:42.050 an alarm for that, and there are no conditions. 0:15:42.310 --> 0:15:43.030 You're going to be tough. 0:15:44.630 --> 0:15:48.500 I am going to ask what I've wanted to ask 0:15:48.540 --> 0:15:53.600 her for several years now. So you can, I am 0:15:53.780 --> 0:15:58.450 sure that, uh, people will be displeased on all sides, 0:15:59.830 --> 0:16:02.350 but I know what I want to know. And I 0:16:02.410 --> 0:16:04.620 know what I think most of the audience wants to know. 0:16:06.120 --> 0:16:09.750 So that's my, uh, Something to look forward to. That's 0:16:09.790 --> 0:16:11.270 my carefully crafted answer. 0:16:11.430 --> 0:16:12.590 Yeah, very carefully crafted. 0:16:12.790 --> 0:16:14.930 I am not going to reveal anything. I'm not going 0:16:14.950 --> 0:16:17.670 to try to skew anything in advance. But I know 0:16:17.710 --> 0:16:20.330 what I want to know. And I think I know 0:16:20.370 --> 0:16:22.550 what most of the public. Now, it's never going to 0:16:22.590 --> 0:16:25.050 please everybody. And it's always a limited amount of time. 0:16:25.460 --> 0:16:28.380 And there's certainly a lot of material to cover. But 0:16:28.860 --> 0:16:32.200 we're going to do it. That's 5 o'clock next Tuesday. 0:16:33.520 --> 0:16:38.960 And we've agreed no conditions. Let me see. 0:16:39.520 --> 0:16:47.640 You know what? I want to get to this. Rob Bonta. 0:16:48.620 --> 0:16:51.970 Rob Bonta is looking to be reelected as California Attorney General. 0:16:52.010 --> 0:16:54.470 He's terrible at his job. He's really bad news. 0:16:55.290 --> 0:16:58.290 He has not investigated most of the fraud that's gone 0:16:58.370 --> 0:17:03.290 on here in California. His only interest is in Donald Trump. 0:17:03.890 --> 0:17:07.740 Donald Trump has... really very little to do with all 0:17:07.780 --> 0:17:11.659 the overwhelming issues we've got to deal with here in California. 0:17:12.720 --> 0:17:18.399 It's a total misdirection, distraction on purpose. What's happening in 0:17:18.440 --> 0:17:21.979 California that's upsetting people is the cause of the California government. 0:17:22.440 --> 0:17:26.180 Rob Bonta is a key part of that. Under his watch, 0:17:26.240 --> 0:17:28.580 there have been many, many billions of dollars of fraud, 0:17:28.619 --> 0:17:31.899 and he's done nothing to stop it. One of the 0:17:31.940 --> 0:17:36.550 greatest examples has been high-speed rail. Hardly a day goes 0:17:36.609 --> 0:17:40.020 by where there's not another inflammatory story about the wasted 0:17:40.080 --> 0:17:43.040 money and the criminal activity of the people running the 0:17:43.080 --> 0:17:52.620 high-speed rail operation. Well, Ashley Zavala, KCRA TV reporter, sat 0:17:52.660 --> 0:17:58.990 down with Rob Bonta this week and asked, you may 0:17:59.030 --> 0:18:02.470 have heard about the latest scandal where. 0:18:04.290 --> 0:18:09.430 You've got consultants and friends of the CEO, Ian Chowdhury, 0:18:10.030 --> 0:18:13.449 who are hanging out at his house, and after they 0:18:13.490 --> 0:18:19.180 were done partying, would get Ubers, Lyft rides, taxis, whatever, 0:18:19.920 --> 0:18:26.600 and be taken out either to restaurants or to bars 0:18:27.980 --> 0:18:31.460 or to home as late as 1, 2 o'clock in 0:18:31.500 --> 0:18:35.340 the morning and charge us for all the rides. We 0:18:35.380 --> 0:18:38.800 found out these consultants were also coming in from far-flung 0:18:38.859 --> 0:18:42.220 cities like Denver and Washington, D.C., and they were charging 0:18:42.300 --> 0:18:48.439 us for nights at nightclubs, cigar bars. Well, you know, 0:18:48.480 --> 0:18:52.640 in general, there is constant thievery. That's just a small example. 0:18:53.460 --> 0:18:58.670 So this is Ashley Zavala asking Bonta about high-speed rail 0:18:58.710 --> 0:19:02.609 leaders breaking California law. Listen to this weasel. 0:19:03.010 --> 0:19:05.470 Inspector General of the General of the High Speed Rail 0:19:05.530 --> 0:19:09.750 did flag some concerns with the authority and basically this 0:19:10.250 --> 0:19:16.390 culture of allowing consultants to impermissibly have California taxpayers spend 0:19:16.480 --> 0:19:18.939 money on travel expenses that they probably should not be. 0:19:19.859 --> 0:19:23.480 Republicans in the legislature are calling on you to investigate that. 0:19:23.760 --> 0:19:26.260 I wonder if your office would play more of a 0:19:26.320 --> 0:19:29.300 role in some of these findings that the inspector general 0:19:30.080 --> 0:19:32.820 is flagging with concerns as it relates to this project. 0:19:32.840 --> 0:19:37.560 I think we're open to identifying what our appropriate role 0:19:37.660 --> 0:19:42.460 is here. I'm the chief law officer of the state 0:19:42.480 --> 0:19:47.020 of California. I enforce the laws. And if laws are 0:19:47.040 --> 0:19:49.970 broken in all sorts of different spaces, We have a role. 0:19:50.090 --> 0:19:54.340 to play. If it's something that Republicans don't like, but 0:19:54.420 --> 0:19:58.780 it's not illegal, that's one thing. If there's another regulator 0:19:58.820 --> 0:20:02.420 that might be more specifically involved, like it doesn't apply 0:20:02.440 --> 0:20:06.360 to this, but the FPPC or another regulator, sometimes there's 0:20:06.380 --> 0:20:09.939 shared responsibility and the other regulator might take the lead 0:20:10.700 --> 0:20:12.940 But we are very open to making sure that on 0:20:12.980 --> 0:20:16.740 all issues, that there's transparency, there's appropriate practices, that the 0:20:17.720 --> 0:20:22.030 invaluable state tax dollars and federal tax dollars that Californians 0:20:22.070 --> 0:20:24.730 pay are spent efficiently and wisely, and that they deliver, 0:20:24.750 --> 0:20:27.570 that there's return on investment, that they're not wasted, that 0:20:27.609 --> 0:20:31.189 they're not misused or abused, that they are turned into 0:20:32.150 --> 0:20:37.220 services and conditions that make people's lives better here in California. 0:20:37.280 --> 0:20:41.869 But the inspector general is... saying explicitly that this authority 0:20:42.130 --> 0:20:46.090 is not complying with state law in a variety of ways, 0:20:46.470 --> 0:20:49.080 whose job is it to hold the authority accountable? 0:20:49.100 --> 0:20:50.460 It could be us. 0:20:52.119 --> 0:20:54.179 And there could be others as well. It could be 0:20:54.200 --> 0:20:56.880 the legislature. The legislature always has a role with oversight 0:20:56.900 --> 0:21:02.280 hearings and making sure that the money that they appropriate 0:21:02.440 --> 0:21:07.490 is used appropriately. So probably like many places, there's multiple 0:21:07.970 --> 0:21:10.810 entities and offices that could be involved. 0:21:11.210 --> 0:21:11.770 Wow. 0:21:12.790 --> 0:21:17.130 Unbelievable. That was a word salad platter. 0:21:17.130 --> 0:21:26.300 17 years of corruption, 17 years and about $ 17 billion 0:21:26.359 --> 0:21:32.560 stolen with no high-speed rail, no rail, no trains, no passengers, 0:21:32.920 --> 0:21:39.030 no nothing. And she asked specifically about Inspector General, right? 0:21:39.050 --> 0:21:43.240 This isn't some Republican. This isn't even a member of 0:21:43.260 --> 0:21:46.320 the media. This is the Inspector General saying, hey, there's 0:21:46.340 --> 0:21:50.920 law breaking going on here. And the Attorney General said 0:21:51.200 --> 0:21:53.810 he's the chief law enforcement officer. I always love these 0:21:53.869 --> 0:21:56.869 people when they want to waste time. They describe their job. 0:21:56.990 --> 0:21:58.949 We know what your job is. Your job is to 0:21:58.990 --> 0:22:02.070 enforce the law and prosecute people. So you have the 0:22:02.109 --> 0:22:04.070 inspector general saying, hey, we got a bunch of bad 0:22:04.109 --> 0:22:07.330 guys stealing money. And Ashley Zavala says, well, what are 0:22:07.350 --> 0:22:09.359 you going to do about it? And he rambles on 0:22:09.380 --> 0:22:11.580 for like a minute and a half. And then she says, well, 0:22:11.840 --> 0:22:13.240 what are you going to do about it? Well, maybe 0:22:13.280 --> 0:22:15.359 somebody else is going to go do something. You know, 0:22:15.380 --> 0:22:16.980 there's a lot of people who could do something. Yeah, 0:22:17.060 --> 0:22:21.670 I could do something. It could be me. It could 0:22:21.690 --> 0:22:24.920 be you, but you don't do anything. And he goes 0:22:24.980 --> 0:22:26.270 and explains who else it could be. 0:22:26.410 --> 0:22:29.190 It doesn't matter. They're breaking the law. You're in charge 0:22:29.250 --> 0:22:31.310 of enforcing the law. It's state law. 0:22:31.390 --> 0:22:41.540 You're the... Am I crazy? Here's another one. Zavala is 0:22:41.660 --> 0:22:47.190 asking Bonta because, you know, Trump withdrew the high-speed rail money. 0:22:47.780 --> 0:22:49.969 And Bonta and Newsom were going to sue, and then 0:22:49.990 --> 0:22:53.950 they completely botched up their case because there was a deadline. 0:22:54.450 --> 0:22:56.750 They had to order the trains by a certain day, 0:22:56.770 --> 0:22:59.320 and they missed the deadline over and over again. And 0:22:59.980 --> 0:23:04.960 so they decided to give up the lawsuit. Listen to 0:23:05.080 --> 0:23:08.560 Ashley Zavala asking Bonta about whether it's a lost cause. 0:23:08.880 --> 0:23:11.900 I know you, this lawsuit wasn't necessarily triggered by your 0:23:12.040 --> 0:23:14.760 office specifically. You were representing your client, the High Speed 0:23:14.820 --> 0:23:20.840 Rail Authority. But, I mean, with that lawsuit essentially being dropped, 0:23:21.500 --> 0:23:25.060 is fighting over federal funds for that project basically a 0:23:25.060 --> 0:23:26.640 lost cause at this point in your eyes? 0:23:28.020 --> 0:23:30.659 I don't know. You know, that's a client case, as 0:23:30.680 --> 0:23:35.830 you mentioned. So I'd refer... some questions about the lawsuit 0:23:35.869 --> 0:23:39.590 and their plans to the client. We bring lawsuits on 0:23:39.630 --> 0:23:41.790 our own representing the people of the state of California 0:23:41.810 --> 0:23:44.510 when we are challenging Trump's unlawfulness and protecting the people 0:23:44.530 --> 0:23:46.990 of the state of California. We also represent different departments 0:23:47.030 --> 0:23:47.630 and agencies. 0:23:47.890 --> 0:23:50.050 It's explaining his job again rather than answering the question. 0:23:50.070 --> 0:23:52.650 We are their agent as their attorney. And so they're 0:23:52.670 --> 0:23:55.120 the ones making the decisions about what to do, whether 0:23:55.160 --> 0:23:58.760 to do it, how to do it. And we represent them, 0:23:59.040 --> 0:24:01.740 of course, ethically and lawfully as their attorney. We are 0:24:01.760 --> 0:24:05.240 the attorney in those cases. You know, the future of 0:24:05.260 --> 0:24:11.359 high-speed rail, I think Governor Becerra, forgive me with respect, 0:24:12.300 --> 0:24:15.960 will have an important role as well as with the 0:24:16.000 --> 0:24:19.320 legislature in where high-speed rail goes from here. I hope 0:24:19.359 --> 0:24:23.119 we can deliver faster, efficiently, connect big urban areas to 0:24:23.180 --> 0:24:25.690 other parts of the state. And I believe that high-speed 0:24:25.710 --> 0:24:28.890 rail is still an appropriate thing for the great state 0:24:29.230 --> 0:24:31.790 of California, the fourth largest state. economy in the world 0:24:31.850 --> 0:24:33.830 and essentially a nation state to have. 0:24:33.850 --> 0:24:35.210 So I hope there's a pathway forward. 0:24:35.570 --> 0:24:37.450 But there will be others who will be making those decisions, 0:24:37.510 --> 0:24:40.030 including the high-speed rail agency as well as the governor 0:24:40.050 --> 0:24:40.710 and the legislature. 0:24:41.030 --> 0:24:47.909 Another extensive non-answer. So Becerra's already the governor? Governor Becerra? Oh, 0:24:47.930 --> 0:24:48.899 they've counted the votes? 0:24:49.040 --> 0:24:50.800 I didn't realize that we did that. 0:24:51.480 --> 0:24:54.240 Yeah, yeah. I didn't vote. Yeah, I guess he knows 0:24:54.300 --> 0:24:58.280 the fix is in. Oh, don't bother to vote. 0:24:58.600 --> 0:24:59.260