Kern County Supervisor Leticia Perez levied accusations of political persecution on Monday against Kern County District Attorney Cynthia Zimmer.
Zimmer’s office allegedly attempted to search Perez’s office without a warrant on Friday and returned on Monday with a warrant, drawing her away from a special meeting on a carbon capture project.
Driving the news: Perez opened Monday’s special meeting detailing Friday’s events, saying investigators from the District Attorney’s Office attempted to enter her office on Friday morning when no one was present.
- According to Perez, investigators attempted to have the County Administrative Office let them in, but county counsel said a warrant was needed to enter.
- Perez said she called Zimmer in the afternoon and left a message saying investigators did not have permission to search her office. Zimmer did not call her back, so Perez sent her a text message saying she did not have permission to search her office.
- Despite being told by county counsel that they needed a warrant, Perez claims investigators “attempted to bully their way” past a staffer to get into her office and the office of Christian Romo. Romo is also the chairman of the Kern County Democratic Party.
- Zimmer responded to Perez’s text, saying, “Thank you I will send the message on.”
- Perez is calling on California Attorney General Rob Bonta to investigate.
State of play: About an hour after making her initial comments, Perez said during Monday’s meeting that Zimmer’s office had returned with a search warrant, leading her to leave the meeting.
- Perez claimed the investigation was launched by comments made by David Brust at a meeting on Oct. 8. Brust accused Perez and Romo of breaking the law by holding a Kern County Democratic Party meeting in her office.
- KGET reported that investigators took pictures of Perez’s office on Monday.
What we’re watching: The investigation comes two weeks before the November election. Perez, who represents District 5, is running against fellow Democrat Kim Salas, who is the District Director for Asm. Jasmeet Bains (D–Delano).
What she’s saying: “I believe that Kern County is better than this behavior,” Perez said. “I believe that these Gestapo tactics that are done by the Public Integrity Unit out of the District Attorney’s Office are illegal, immoral and unethical.”
Zimmer’s response: Zimmer’s office released a statement on Monday following Perez’s comments, saying requesting consent prior to engaging in a search is a commonly used and widely accepted practice for investigators.
- “It is common for investigators to request consent to conduct searches as part of a pending investigation. When parties with access to information or evidence relevant to a criminal investigation decline to voluntarily consent to a search, the next step in an investigation is often to seek judicial authorization to conduct the search,” the statement reads. “Such judicial authorization takes the form of a search warrant, which, when properly based on probable cause and approved by a judge, gives investigators the authority to conduct a search even when a party or parties decline to voluntarily consent to a search.”
- Zimmer’s office said the Public Integrity Unit investigates potential criminal violations, including those related to elected officials. Her office did not say why Perez is under investigation.
