California gubernatorial candidate Xavier Becerra has been trying to swat down his ties to an alleged fraud case, as he seemingly struggles to answer the questions it poses about his financial stewardship.
In an interview with KCRA published Sunday, the former Health and Human Services chief gave a long-winded answer when asked how he would ensure taxpayers wouldn’t be swindled with their money as governor.
The Democratic candidate, who Gavin Newsom’s team reportedly favor, went on at least a minute-long ramble about his track record at HHS and as a state attorney general, but his answer didn’t touch upon fiscal responsibility.
“When it came time to COVID, take a look at how we were able to get those vaccines — 700 million of those vaccines by the time we were able to finish our four years in tenure,” he said. “Never once did we have to ask Americans to pay one penny.”
“Take a look at the work I did to protect our state at a time when Donald Trump was president the first time and was coming at our state,” he added about his time as attorney general.
“If people want to see what I do, how I do it, whether I can be accountable, I’d say, take a look at that record,” he ended his answer with.
Part of his record, however, includes allegations that Gov. Gavin Newsom’s former chief of staff Dana Williamson plotted with lobbyist Greg Campbell and longtime Becerra aide Sean McCluskie to siphon $225,000 from Becerra’s dormant campaign account for personal use between February 2022 and September 2024.
While McCluskie was Becerra’s chief of staff, Williamson — who also worked on Becerra’s 2018 campaign for attorney general — allegedly funneled $10,000 per month.
The funds were routed through multiple business entities and falsely labeled as pay for a “no-show” job that didn’t exist.
She pleaded not guilty, while Campbell and McCluskie pleaded guilty.
Becerra reiterated in the interview that he was misled; finding out about what happened was a “gut punch.”
When asked why the $10,000 payments did not raise red flags, the candidate said multiple campaign lawyers did not raise issues with him.
He distanced himself from overseeing the account as he had to retain an image of political neutrality as HHS chief, he explained.
The payments were legal, he noted, just not what was done afterward with the money.
The candidate has come under fire by other candidates for ties to the case. In another interview with CNN, when asked what it says about his judgment to trust McCluskie, he acknowledged, “People make mistakes.”
Becerra had been trailing in the single digits in polls, but after former congressman Eric Swalwell left the race from sexual assault allegations, he has surged to become one of the leading Democrats.
Allies of Newsom have reportedly eyed Becerra as someone to rally around.
When Becerra was asked by KCRA Sunday to grade Newsom’s tenure overall, he said “I don’t know if I can give him a grade” a minute after promising he was going to grade him. During a debate last Wednesday, he gave Newsom an “A” on tackling homelessness.
