Karen Bass' text messages about Palisades Fire were deleted: Report

LOS ANGELES - Los Angeles Mayor Karen Bass' text messages from the early days of the Palisades Fire were deleted, according to a new report from the Los Angeles Times.

Deleted text messages

What we know:

Bass was in Ghana when the Palisades and Eaton fires broke out on Jan. 7, and spent much of the next day traveling the more than 7,500 miles back to Los Angeles. 

She and her office said she was in communication with city officials while she was traveling back to LA. In a March 7 report from the LA Times, the newspaper said it had filed a public records request to find out just what Bass and city officials were saying about the situation.

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Specifically, the Times said it had requested all text messages two and from the mayor about the fires and her travel plans, while she was traveling on Jan. 7 and 8. On Thursday, Bass' office told the Times that they had "no responsive records" to fulfill their request.

What is a public record?

Dig deeper:

The California Public Records Act allows any member of the public to request a public record.

State law defines a public record as "any writing containing information relating to the conduct of the public's business prepared, owned, used or retained by any state or local agency regardless of physical form or characteristics."

There are exemptions to records requests, which are usually centered around privacy. Government agencies can deny requests for things like personnel and investigative records. Another big exception is "whenever the public interest in nondisclosure clearly outweighs the public interest in disclosure." 

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But the law also says that when agencies deny requests, they have to say why. Agencies can also redact any exempt information from whatever records they deliver.

In the case of Bass' text messages, however, the Times said that Bass' office didn't give them a reason, or say whether they were withholding any records.

Why is Karen Bass deleting her text messages?

What they're saying:

David Michaelson, an attorney for the city, claims that these laws do not apply to text messages, telling City News Service that "the Mayor's phone is set to not save text messages — it auto deletes."

Michaelson added that the CPRA is "not a record-retaining statute. There is no requirement that a city official or employee save text messages."

Michaelson went on to cite an Attorney General ruling from 1981, that says for any public record to be kept, "it must have been made or retained by the public officer for the purpose of preserving its informational content for future reference."

Bass receives backlash for Ghana trip

The backstory:

The Palisades Fire broke out in the Pacific Palisades on Jan. 7. As firefighters were fighting the rapidly-spreading flames amid deadly winds, Bass was halfway around the world in Ghana. 

Bass was there as part of a four-member U.S. delegation sent by President Joe Biden to attend the inauguration of President John Dramani Mahama. Bass returned to Los Angeles once she heard about the fires, getting back on Jan. 8. But, City Council President Marqueece Harris-Dawson, acting as mayor, had to sign the proclamation of a local emergency issued by Bass. 

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Bass has faced loads of criticism for the trip, which she later admitted was a mistake. In an interview with FOX 11's Elex Michaelson, Bass said she wasn't aware before leaving for the trip that the fire forecast was so dire, and that she would not have left if she had known how bad it was. 

She partially blamed former LAFD Chief Kristin Crowley, saying Crowley never contacted her before she left for Ghana to warn her. Bass later fired Crowley over her fire response.