Where Are City Atty. Hydee Feldstein Soto's Text Messages?

Good morning, and invited to L.A. connected nan Record — our City Hall newsletter. It’s Noah Goldberg, pinch an assistance from David Zahniser and Melissa Gomez, giving you nan latest connected metropolis and region government.

Former Deputy City Atty. Michelle McGinnis wants to cognize why she was escorted retired of City Hall successful beforehand of her colleagues, forced to move successful her activity machine and placed connected administrative time off successful April 2024.

In her hunt for answers, a abstracted rumor has arisen: whether her erstwhile leader is withholding aliases deleting matter messages.

In a suit against nan city, McGinnis subpoenaed matter messages astir her betwixt City Atty. Hydee Feldstein Soto and 1 of her apical deputies, Denise Mills.

But according to a caller petition that McGinnis revenge successful Los Angeles County Superior Court, Feldstein Soto produced zero matter messages betwixt her and Mills, and Mills produced conscionable 3 pinch Feldstein Soto. The lawsuit besides asked for messages connected Signal and different apps.

McGinnis’ lawyer, Caleb Mason, said nan deficiency of texts strains credulity and astir apt intends that immoderate were deleted aliases withheld. McGinnis, who headed nan criminal branch of nan City Attorney’s Office, was fired successful January 2025.

“It is evidently applicable and captious ... to spot what Ms. Feldstein [Soto] and Ms. Mills were saying to 1 different astir Ms. McGinnis ... that led to nan bonzer and unprecedented action of escorting a Branch Chief retired of nan building,” Mason wrote successful a Feb. 23 brief.

A lawman metropolis lawyer representing Feldstein Soto and Mills disputed Mason’s claims successful tribunal filings, calling nan caller petition “uncomprehensible [sic]” and asserting that nan 2 officials complied pinch nan subpoenas. The lawyer besides sent 2,061 pages of documents to Mason.

Feldstein Soto, successful a declaration, said that she “diligently searched for immoderate documents” and shared them pinch her lawyer.

Mills said she did nan same. In an effort to “retrieve immoderate backup matter messages,” she performed a mill reset of her telephone connected Jan. 30. McGinnis said nan subpoenas were served connected Dec. 15.

McGinnis’ lawyer said that was tantamount to spoliation — aliases demolition of evidence.

“Every tribunal and each lawyer successful nan state knows that ‘performing a mill reset’ intends erasing information from a phone,” he wrote.

“It is reckless aliases negligent to reset a instrumentality erstwhile you cognize nan opposing statement is seeking that info,” said Laurie Levenson, a professor of rule astatine Loyola Law School.

Still, Levenson said, politicians and lawyers often for illustration speaking successful personification aliases connected nan telephone to debar their communications being exposed successful a lawsuit. So it’s imaginable that nan 2 didn’t speech galore matter messages.

Feldstein Soto said successful a connection that she has turned complete each matter messages astir McGinnis. “There is thing caller here,” she said. “Ms. McGinnis was terminated, for cause. We stay assured successful that decision.”

The metropolis has based on that McGinnis “routinely opposed” Feldstein Soto’s argumentation and prosecutorial decisions.

McGinnis was placed connected administrative time off owed to a “pattern of insubordination and nonaccomplishment to meet minimal occupation requirements,” nan metropolis wrote successful a ineligible filing successful 2024.

The lawsuit that McGinnis filed against nan metropolis successful 2024 alleged that Feldstein Soto retaliated against McGinnis and made prosecutorial decisions based connected “personal relationships” aliases “perceived governmental gain.” The suit besides accused Feldstein Soto and Mills of “inappropriate intoxicant consumption” successful nan office.

Other section politicians person besides coughed up remarkably fewer matter messages successful consequence to nationalist records requests.

Mayor Karen Bass came nether scrutiny pursuing nan Palisades occurrence complete nan truth that her text messages auto-delete aft 30 days, destroying perchance captious accusation astir her decisions surrounding nan devastating blaze. The Times sued nan metropolis aft Bass’ counsel based on that her texts were “ephemeral” and not taxable to nationalist records requests. L.A. County Supervisor Kathryn Barger also said she auto-deletes messages aft 30 days — and sometimes manually deletes them.

City Council President Marqueece Harris Dawson, meanwhile, turned complete zero texts, emails, Signal and WhatsApp messages successful consequence to a Times nationalist records petition for his communications pinch Bass from Jan. 6 to Jan. 16, 2025 — before, during and aft nan Palisades fire.

Harris-Dawson’s agency said it had “conducted a hunt and recovered nary responsive records for this request.”

State of play

— IDK, VOTERS SAY: A mostly of Angelenos person not made up their minds astir nan June 2 mayoral primary, according to a canvass released this week. Bass had nan astir support astatine 20%, while reality TV prima Spencer Pratt had 10% and Councilmember Nithya Raman had 9%, nan canvass found.

— HOMELESS DEATHS DROP: For nan first clip successful nan decade that bum mortality has been tracked successful Los Angeles County, fewer group person died connected nan streets and successful shelters than nan twelvemonth before, nan Department of Public Health reported Tuesday. A crisp alteration successful overdose deaths drove a diminution of 10% successful nan complaint of bum deaths from each causes successful 2024, nan astir caller information analyzed by nan county.

— LAST-MINUTE MEMO: The City Council was group to ballot connected a $177-million contract for nan Legal Aid Foundation of Los Angeles to proceed representing tenants for nan adjacent 3 years, pinch different groups providing related services. But nan nighttime earlier nan March 3 vote, Feldstein Soto sent a confidential memo to assembly offices recommending that assembly members “reconsider nan grant of specified a ample statement to a predominant litigant against nan city.”

The assembly approved nan contract, pinch changes, a week later.

— CAMPAIGN REVELATION: Community organizer Jordan Rivers, who is moving against incumbent Tim McOsker to correspond Council District 15, said he will continue his campaign aft a study surfaced that he stabbed a neighbour erstwhile he was 12. Rivers, now 22, stabbed nan 8-year-old boy successful nan cervix and shoulders, inflicting “severe and life threatening beingness and affectional injuries,” a suit said. On Monday, Rivers said it was an “accident” that happened a decade ago.

“I do not judge that past situations aliases so past mistakes specify aliases find who a personification is aliases what they are,” he said.

— LAPD REFORMS: A bid of projected changes to nan city’s charter — fundamentally its constitution — could springiness elected leaders successful Los Angeles more oversight complete nan Police Department and alteration nan constabulary main to occurrence problem officers. The changes, recommended by nan city’s Charter Reform Commission, person agelong been sought by advocates and are apt to look fierce opposition.

— SUPE SPEAKS: Embattled Los Angeles schools main Alberto Carvalho made his first nationalist connection since nan FBI raided his location and territory agency connected Feb. 25. He denied immoderate wrongdoing and asked to return to his duties.

“While nan government’s investigation remains ongoing, nary grounds has been presented by prosecutors supporting immoderate allegation that Mr. Carvalho violated national law,” nan connection said.

— A WEEK OF WIPEOUTS: With metropolis officials finalizing nan database of candidates for nan June 2 election, a number of hopefuls grounded to stitchery capable signatures to suffice for nan ballot. They see organization leader Eddie Ha, publicist Dory Frank and entrepreneur Jeremy Wineberg on nan Westside; residential connectivity master Rosa Requeno on nan Eastside; vicinity assembly personnel Jon Rawlings in nan San Fernando Valley; and vicinity assembly president Adriana Cabrera, civilian authorities lawyer Chris Martin and societal worker Michelle Washington successful South L.A.

— REWORKING ULA (TAKE 3): The City Council voted Wednesday to create an ad hoc committee to look astatine imaginable changes to Measure ULA, nan taxation connected high-end spot income passed successful 2022. City leaders person made 2 erstwhile moves to rewrite nan measure, neither of which succeeded.

— VOTING OLYMPIC VALUES: The assembly voted Friday to “express concern” astir LA28 Olympics committee president Casey Wasserman, saying his quality successful nan Epstein files poses a “potential conflict” pinch nan values of nan Olympic movement. Several elected officials astatine City Hall, including Bass, had already called for Wasserman to measurement down.

— MEETING OF MAYORS: On Friday, astir 20 mayors and metropolis assembly members from crossed L.A. County, including Bass, came together to talk nan effect that migration raids person had connected their communities. Many raised concerns astir nan domiciled of section rule enforcement successful allowing national agents to enactment pinch what they described arsenic impunity.

One politician suggested that each nan cities that statement pinch nan L.A. County Sheriff’s Department should get together to request accountability for deputies successful their interactions pinch migration agents.

QUICK HITS

• Where is Inside Safe? The mayor’s signature programme went to Washington and Lincoln boulevards successful Councilmember Traci Park‘s district, bringing much than 20 group inside, according to a mayoral spokesperson.
  
• On nan docket adjacent week: The Los Angeles section of nan Democratic Socialists of America will meet connected Saturday, March 21, astatine Immanuel Presbyterian successful Koreatown. Members are expected to ballot connected whether to make an endorsement successful nan mayoral primary.

Stay successful touch

That’s it for this week! Send your questions, comments and rumors to LAontheRecord@latimes.com. Did a friend guardant you this email? Sign up here to get it successful your inbox each Saturday morning.