Overview
- Bonta’s 2026 reelection committee paid about $468,000 to Wilson Sonsini Goodrich & Rosati in 2024 for legal services, according to state disclosures.
- His campaign says the lawyers represented him when federal agents questioned him in an Oakland corruption probe involving former Mayor Sheng Thao and businessmen David Trung Duong and Andy Hung Duong.
- Advisor Dan Newman says investigators viewed Bonta as a possible victim, that his role ended in 2024, and that he was never under investigation.
- The campaign returned $155,000 in Duong family contributions after the probe became public, including $24,300 from the two indicted brothers.
- Legal experts note California’s FPPC permits campaign funds for legal costs only with a demonstrable campaign nexus, raising questions about whether this spending qualifies.