Newly uncovered documents reveal that California Attorney General Rob Bonta was aware that one of his major donors was involved in serious criminal activity, including prostitution rings targeting elected officials (including minors), money laundering, illegal political donations, contract fraud, and manipulation of straw donors.
A letter obtained by ABC7 reveals that a defendant Andy Duong in the corruption case tied to former Oakland Mayor Sheng Thao secretly recorded a compromising video of Bonta. This may also explains why the Attorney General extorted $468,000 in campaign funds on legal fees connected to FBI investigations.
In a May 9, 2024 letter to Bonta, Mario Juarez described his knowledge of criminal actions by the Oakland-based California Waste Solutions and its owners, the Duongs.
“I have firsthand knowledge of the Duong family’s illegal activities, including money laundering, illegal political contributions, falsified contracts, and the use of straw donors. Their actions also involved facilitating prostitution for elected officials, including minors.”
Bonta “was far more aware of the Duongs’ activities than anyone suspected.” said Steve Tavares with East Bay Insider.
"It is interesting that this letter came out, gosh, more than a year ago now, and some of its allegations seem to have been proven sufficiently correct so that the feds are willing to take action on some of them," said " Wilson Leung federal prosecutor.
Now, who are the Duongs?
Former Oakland DEI Mayor Sheng Thao has been criminally indicted by a grand jury on corruption charges—bribery, racketeering, and perjury.
In 2024, Madam DEI became the first mayor in Oakland’s history to be recalled, following a surge in crime, murder, and homelessness.
This is just one of the indictments.
The indictment: Thao agreed to give city contracts and appointments to the (local businessmen) Duongs. In return, David and Andy Duong paid for $75,000 in attack ads against Thao’s opponents during her mayoral election and paid another $95,000 to Andre Jones for a no-show job—promising more—all to benefit Thao and Jones personally.
Who is Andre Jones? The mayor’s f**k partner
📝This scandal surfaced when political watchdog Raphael Rothschild filed a formal complaint with the Fair Political Practices Commission (FPPC), accusing Bonta of violating the Political Reform Act by extorting nearly half a million dollars in campaign funds for what appears to be personal legal protection.
No one spends nearly half a million dollars on lawyers—let alone an Attorney General—unless it’s really bad. I mean really bad. I’m talking Epstein-bad.
[MSN-AyPee] Embattled Troll
Wisconsin Judge Hannah Dugan, who was convicted of obstruction last month for helping an immigrant evade federal officers, has sent her resignation letter to the governor.
The letter was sent Saturday. Republicans had been making plans to impeach her ever since her Dec. 19 conviction. A spokesperson for Gov. Tony Evers, a Democrat, said his office received Dugan's letter, and he would work to fill the vacancy without delay.
Dugan wrote that over the past decade she handled thousands of cases with “a commitment to treat all persons with dignity and respect, to act justly, deliberately and consistently, and to maintain a courtroom with the decorum and safety the public deserves.”
But she said the case against her is too big of a distraction.
“As you know, I am the subject of unprecedented federal legal proceedings, which are far from concluded but which present immense and complex challenges that threaten the independence of our judiciary. I am pursuing this fight for myself and for our independent judiciary,” Dugan said in her letter.
Last April, federal prosecutors accused Dugan of distracting federal officers trying to arrest a Mexican immigrant outside her courtroom and leading the man out through a private door. A federal jury convicted her of felony obstruction.
The case against Dugan was highlighted by President Donald Trump as he pressed ahead with his sweeping immigration crackdown. Democrats insisted the administration was trying to make an example of Dugan to blunt judicial opposition to the operation.
On April 18, immigration officers went to the Milwaukee County courthouse after learning 31-year-old Eduardo Flores-Ruiz had reentered the country illegally and was scheduled to appear before Dugan for a hearing in a state battery case.
Dugan confronted agents outside her courtroom and directed them to the office of her boss, Milwaukee County Chief Judge Carl Ashley, because she told them their administrative warrant wasn’t sufficient grounds to arrest Flores-Ruiz.
After the agents left, she led Flores-Ruiz and his attorney out a private jury door. Agents spotted Flores-Ruiz in the corridor, followed him outside and arrested him after a foot chase. The U.S. Department of Homeland Security announced in November he had been deported.
#4
I'm going with an F6 for 'Single Source' Carvajal for right now:
Unknown reliability An intelligence source rated as F6 is considered to have unknown reliability and the validity of the information cannot be determined. This rating is part of a structured system used to evaluate the reliability of intelligence sources and the information they provide. The F6 rating is part of a broader system that includes other ratings such as A1 (reliable and confirmed by independent sources) to F6 (reliability unknown and validity of the information cannot be determined). This system helps analysts and decision-makers to assess the credibility of intelligence sources and the information they provide, ensuring that informed decisions are based on trustworthy input. (wiki)
#10
If the Delta guys seized intel material from the bedroom and safe room before extraction, verification and a conucopia of verification might be forthcoming. In about a week Maduro and his wife will sell-out their parents for a decent PB&J sandwich!
[ZERO] President Donald Trump ordered a midnight military raid that captured Venezuelan dictator Nicolás Maduro and his wife, Cilia Flores. U.S. forces pulled off the job without a hitch, hauling in the pair.
"The United States of America has successfully carried out a large scale strike against Venezuela and its leader, President Nicolas Maduro, who has been, along with his wife, captured and flown out of the Country," Trump announced on Truth Social at 4:21 EST. "This operation was done in conjunction with U.S. Law Enforcement. Details to follow."
Hours later, Attorney General Pam Bondi announced the pair had been indicted.
"Nicolas Maduro and his wife, Cilia Flores, have been indicted in the Southern District of New York," she explained in a post on X. "Nicolas Maduro has been charged with Narco-Terrorism Conspiracy, Cocaine Importation Conspiracy, Possession of Machineguns and Destructive Devices, and Conspiracy to Possess Machineguns and Destructive Devices against the United States. They will soon face the full wrath of American justice on American soil in American courts."
[RedState] Democratic Socialist NYC Mayor Zohran Mamdani has been in office for less than 80 hours, but already he’s watched as the U.S. military forcibly captured his fellow socialist comrade in arms, (now former) Venezuelan dictator Nicolás Maduro, and spirited him out of his country. Maduro and wife wife arrived Saturday in... the Big Apple, to face federal criminal charges in the Southern District of New York.
Somehow seems fitting, doesn't it?
Zohran is, predictably, outraged that the United States would seek to take down a drug kingpin who had illicitly taken over the reins of power in a formerly great country.
#12
A lot of people have concerns about 2nd and 3rd order impact of the Maduro/Wife grab. There will be a huge rush to determine what else got seized and how long before they start talking non-stop. Remember, they are charged with federal crimes, and Trump can pardon or commute any or all of it. SO the deal making isn't just about a nicer view, their entire lives can be made better for quality intel, and lots of it. Huge swaths of Washington must be worried about who in the ongoing linkage mapping might roll-over early to get a deal!
A multi-volume chronology and reference guide set detailing three years of the Mexican Drug War between 2010 and 2012.
Rantburg.com and borderlandbeat.com correspondent and author Chris Covert presents his first non-fiction work detailing
the drug and gang related violence in Mexico.
Chris gives us Mexican press dispatches of drug and gang war violence
over three years, presented in a multi volume set intended to chronicle the death, violence and mayhem which has
dominated Mexico for six years.
Rantburg was assembled from recycled algorithms in the United States of America. No
trees were destroyed in the production of this weblog. We did hurt some, though. Sorry.
[MSN-AyPee] Embattled 
A lot of people have concerns about 2nd and 3rd order impact of the Maduro/Wife grab. There will be a huge rush to determine what else got seized and how long before they start talking non-stop. Remember, they are charged with federal crimes, and Trump can pardon or commute any or all of it. SO the deal making isn't just about a nicer view, their entire lives can be made better for quality intel, and lots of it. Huge swaths of Washington must be worried about who in the ongoing linkage mapping might roll-over early to get a deal! 
