Former US Attorney: LA Mayor ‘Criminal Negligence’ Apparent in Wildfires

For the last two weeks, the country has been captivated by the wildfires and their destruction in California.

I have already written a scathing report ripping local officials for their neglect in possibly preventing so much damage, and now even Democrats are piling on, especially against Los Angeles Mayor Karen Bass.

Promises Broken

There are a lot of ugly rumors about LA Mayor Karen Bass and her affiliations, some of which I am now tracking down, but I don’t want to spread false rumors, so let’s concentrate on where Bass was when the fires broke out and promises that were made.

When Bass ran for office, she promised not to travel during her term as mayor, stating, “Not only would I of course live here [in Los Angeles], but I also would not travel internationally — the only places I would go would be DC, Sacramento, San Francisco and New York, in relation to LA.”

Bass was asked the question because of her questionable travel habits while serving in Congress. Yet, where was Bass when the wildfires started?

Well, she was in Ghana, tossing back drinks at the country’s presidential inauguration. Bass has yet to shed any light on the purpose of the trip, but it surely did not have anything to do with LA. Not only that, but reports have now surfaced that Bass has traveled internationally five times since taking office.

You Were Warned

Los Angeles Fire Chief Kristin Crowley has rightfully taken considerable heat for these fires and the damage they have caused, especially the rather poor response when the fires broke out.

However, she is far from the only one to blame here, especially when you consider Bass cut more than $17 million from the budget for the department, even though Crowley had warned her it would hurt the department’s ability for a large-scale response.

In a December 4, 2024, memo, Crowley told Bass, “The reduction … has severely limited the department’s capacity to prepare for, train for, and respond to large-scale emergencies, including wildfires.”

The memo continued, “Without this funding, pilot compliance and readiness are jeopardized, and aerial firefighting capabilities are diminished. Changes to the Air Operations Section impact the Department’s ability to adhere to current automatic and mutual aid agreements, provide air ambulance service, and quickly respond to woodland fires with water dropping helicopters.”

Criminal Negligence

A former US attorney for Vice President Kamala Harris, Michael Valentine, is now speaking up, suggesting that charges should be fired against Bass for possible “criminal negligence.”

Valentine stated, “I think Mayor Bass bears the ultimate responsibility for this failure, and I think she should be held accountable. There’s no way that I could trust her again as my mayor in light of this tragedy, there’s no way.”

He went on to say that he has seen these fires for years, and a proper response would have contained the fire before it hit the homes, stating, “If there was a prompt response, and if there was a lot of water, [even] adequate water could’ve done it. If the fire drops just kept coming consistently, this fire could’ve been confined. Sure, it would’ve continued a bit, but that was all wilderness out there. It wouldn’t have touched any of the homes.”

Thousands of homes and businesses have been destroyed. The death count increases every day, and it is likely to go through the roof once they can get into these areas and go through the debris. There is going to be plenty of blame to go around, but it starts with Bass, and I agree, she should be hit with criminal negligence charges because these fires could have been contained, and nobody had to lose their home, their pets, their belongings, and even their lives.