California Attorney General Rob Bonta said the Department of Justice would be investigating the Los Angeles City Council over its redistricting process.

A recently leaked audio recording involving City Councilmembers Nury Martinez, Kevin de Leon, Gil Cedillo and  revealed them making several off-color comments about different races, Los Angeles communities and even other councilmembers, but portions of the conversation also revolved around the city’s redistricting.

“The decennial redistricting process is foundational for our democracy and for the ability of our communities to make their voices heard — and it must be above reproach,” Bonta said in a statement Wednesday. “The leaked audio has cast doubt on a cornerstone of our political processes for Los Angeles. Given these unique circumstances, my office will investigate to gather the facts, work to determine the truth, and take action, as necessary, to ensure the fair application of our laws. We will endeavor to bring the truth to light as part of the sorely-needed work to restore confidence in the redistricting process for the people of our state.”

Throughout different portions of the conversation, the four members of the conversation discuss different Los Angeles landmarks, the districts in which they reside and where they could potentially belong based on redistricting.

“I’m hoping that you guys can all figure this redistricting out,” Herrera said toward the beginning of the conversation in the audio, as the council group continued to discuss redistricting strategies.

As of this writing, it is unclear if any portions of the conversation involved illegal activity, or unethical activity, and no legal actions have been taken against any of the council members in the audio recording.

 

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