An investigative recordCalifornia attorney general race · November 3, 2026
California’s attorney general steered money to nonprofits that employed his wife, championed a $3.4 million grant for a donor’s plant that was never built and spent nearly half a million campaign dollars on lawyers during a federal corruption probe. These are the documents.
Bonta, a Democrat appointed in 2021, faces Republican Michael Gates on the November 3, 2026 ballot.
01 The lead investigation
As an Assemblymember, Rob Bonta asked donors for $517,500 between 2014 and 2016 for nonprofits that employed his wife, Mia Bonta. The largest was a $500,000 Google grant to Bring Me A Book, where she was executive director.
His own charity, the Bonta California Progress Foundation, was funded largely by $132,500 he solicited from donors including PG&E, Anheuser-Busch and Verizon. In 2018 it sent its largest donation, $25,000, to The Literacy Lab, where Mia Bonta was CEO. Bonta later called it a loan. CalMatters reported that the foundation’s tax return does not reflect that.
“This should not be allowed, and the law should be amended to prohibit it.”
Bob Stern, co-author of California’s Political Reform Act, to CalMatters
Bonta’s response He said his wife’s salary was set by an independent board and did not change based on his fundraising.
| Year | Donor | Recipient | Amount |
|---|---|---|---|
| 2014 | Bring Me A Book | $500,000 | |
| 2015 | PG&E and two other donors | The Literacy Lab | $11,000 |
| 2016 | PG&E | The Literacy Lab | $6,500 |
| 2014–2016 total | $517,500 | ||
| 2018 | His own foundation | The Literacy Lab | $25,000 |
| 2020 | Three donors | Oakland Promise | $20,000 |
Sources: FPPC behested-payment records; CalMatters. The 2018 transfer was a foundation grant, not a behest.
02 Six more investigations
Each finding links to the document behind it. Where Bonta has responded, his response is noted.
Office of the Governor, March 24, 2021Political ties
Appointed by Newsom
Newsom chose Bonta to replace Xavier Becerra. Bonta campaigned against Newsom’s recall, his office wrote the ballot label for Newsom’s Prop 50 and defended it in court, and he now endorses Becerra for governor while Newsom endorses him.
ContextNo role for Bonta has been reported in the federal fraud case involving a Becerra campaign account.
FPPC Behested Payment Transparency Report, page 20Never built
$3,393,598
A letter from Bonta helped revive a grant the Energy Commission had rejected, according to the San Francisco Chronicle. About $700,000 was spent and the plant was never built. Co-founder Mario Juarez, a major Bonta donor, has since pleaded guilty to bribery conspiracy.
Bonta’s responseHe said the project promised jobs and environmental gains.
United States v. Thao et al., indictment, January 2025Trial underway
$468,228
Bonta’s reelection campaign paid Wilson Sonsini to handle his dealings with federal investigators. A May 2024 letter warned that Andy Duong, now on trial for bribery, had a compromising recording of Bonta. His campaign gave away $155,000 in Duong-linked donations after FBI raids.
Bonta’s responseHe denies any recording exists and is not charged. The FPPC found the spending lawful.
Assembly Budget Subcommittee No. 4 agenda, April 25, 2023Conflict of interest
$1.17 billion
Mia Bonta chaired the subcommittee that reviews her husband’s Justice Department budget and insisted there was no ethical violation. A former FPPC general counsel said “they have a tin ear about ethics.” She recused herself only after press scrutiny, and DOJ’s budget moved to another panel.
Her responseShe said she stepped aside so Californians could have “absolute confidence in the legislative process.”
Morrison Foerster report for California DOJ, November 2022No discipline disclosed
192,000
His DOJ posted the names, home addresses and birth dates of concealed-carry applicants, including judges and prosecutors. After the leak was flagged, a senior official put the data back online, and the file was downloaded about 2,734 times.
Bonta’s responseHe called the release unacceptable and promised reforms. DOJ has not said whether anyone was disciplined.
Oakland City Auditor investigation, November 2019City audit
$4 million+
Oakland’s auditor found City Hall put more than $4 million into Oakland Promise, including $704,374 for a mayoral aide who “works for Oakland Promise.” Mia Bonta became CEO in 2019 at $195,000 a year, and Rob Bonta raised money for it while she ran it.
ContextThe audit attributed its findings to the Mayor’s Office and did not name Mia Bonta.
03 Timeline
The same names recur: his wife’s employers, donors who lobby him, the Duong family and the governor who appointed him.
04 The Sacramento circle
Gavin Newsom
Governor
Rob Bonta
Attorney general
Xavier Becerra
Former attorney general, candidate for governor
05 Questions
Incumbent Democrat Rob Bonta and Republican Michael Gates, a former Huntington Beach city attorney, were the top two finishers in the June 2, 2026 primary. They face each other in the general election on November 3, 2026.
All questions on this investigationYes. FPPC behested-payment records show that as an Assemblymember, Bonta solicited $517,500 from 2014 to 2016 for organizations employing his wife, Mia Bonta, including a $500,000 Google grant to Bring Me A Book, where she was executive director. In 2020 he solicited another $20,000 for Oakland Promise while she was its CEO.
All questions on this investigationGov. Gavin Newsom appointed Bonta on March 24, 2021, to replace Xavier Becerra, who left to become U.S. Health and Human Services Secretary. The Legislature confirmed Bonta on April 22, 2021, and Newsom swore him in the next day. CalMatters described Bonta as a “trusted political ally” of Newsom.
All questions on this investigationA $3,393,598 California Energy Commission grant, approved in April 2015, for a biodiesel plant on East Bay Municipal Utility District land in West Oakland. Bonta, then an Assemblymember, reported it to the FPPC as a behested payment, and the San Francisco Chronicle reported it was the largest behested payment by an Assembly member since 2010.
All questions on this investigation$468,228 to the law firm Wilson Sonsini Goodrich & Rosati, according to KCRA. The Los Angeles Times reported the money came from his 2026 reelection campaign account. Bonta said the lawyers helped him provide information to federal investigators.
All questions on this investigationYes, briefly. In December 2022, Assembly Speaker Anthony Rendon named Assemblymember Mia Bonta chair of Budget Subcommittee No. 5 on Public Safety, which reviews the budget of the Department of Justice run by her husband, Attorney General Rob Bonta. After criticism, she recused herself from DOJ matters on February 19, 2023, and DOJ’s budget was heard by Subcommittee No. 4 instead.
All questions on this investigationOn June 27, 2022, Attorney General Rob Bonta’s Department of Justice launched an updated Firearms Dashboard that exposed the personal information of roughly 192,000 concealed-carry (CCW) permit applicants, including names, home addresses and dates of birth. The data remained publicly accessible until DOJ took the dashboard down on June 28. An independent investigation by the law firm Morrison Foerster found inadequate training, procedures and oversight.
All questions on this investigationA November 2019 investigation by the Oakland City Auditor found the City contributed more than $4 million to Oakland Promise, including in-kind support. It found that a Mayor’s Office position costing $704,374 in city funds was held by someone who “works for Oakland Promise,” that partner staff used City Hall office space for about two years without a lease, and that the City Administration “did not follow the Municipal Code.”
All questions on this investigationEvery account links to what it rests on: investigative reports, audits, campaign and behest filings, court records and news reporting. Entries in the source library list the date and any paywall or access limit.
