Bonta’s Attorneys Fail To Appear At Hearing About Bianco Election Probe; DOJ Attributes Absence To Misunderstanding

Judge Eric Keen Friday took both ex parte petitions filed by Attorney General Rob Bonta off the calendar after a representative for the California Department of Justice (DOJ) failed to make an appearance in court in support of the motions.

The DOJ said its attorneys were prepared to present on the call, but were never taken off mute. The department said it later learned that it had been given the wrong call-in number for today’s hearing.

The department has since re-filed the ex parte applications on its amended petition filed Thursday with the Riverside County Superior Court and said a hearing has been scheduled for Monday at 8:30 a.m. with Judge Dorothy McLaughlin.

The petitions were filed in conjunction with Bonta’s latest effort to halt Sheriff Chad Bianco’s investigation into alleged election irregularities stemming from last November’s special statewide election, first reported by The Riverside Record.

The first ex parte petition asked for an expedited briefing schedule, which means the DOJ was requesting that the court approve an accelerated timeline for submitting legal arguments due to the urgent nature of the case.

The second petition was requesting that the court allow portions of the first ex parte petition and several of the exhibits filed in support to be sealed or redacted because they include material that has been sealed by court order. 

The DOJ has already publicly submitted redacted versions of the documents and had submitted the unredacted versions under conditional seal pending the ruling by the court.

“I’m just going to take both ex partes off calendar,” Keen told attorney Bob Tyler, who appeared remotely on behalf of Bianco.

Earlier in the brief exchange, Tyler said it was his understanding that attorneys for the DOJ were going to appear remotely, but had not heard from them.

“It could possibly be as a result of an email we sent to them last night,” he said.

When Keen asked what the two parties spoke about, Tyler said that an ex parte was not necessary at this point, calling the situation “very politicized” and stating that the DOJ’s request was because Bonta’s office was “upset with the optics of an investigation being performed by the sheriff.”

Tyler declined to comment when asked for more information by The Record, but said he would be “submitting a declaration to the court later today,” in regards to the email. As of Saturday, nothing had been added to the court docket.

The county in a statement to The Record said it was aware that lawsuits had been filed in multiple courts regarding last November’s special statewide election and would continue to meet all legal obligations and comply with applicable court orders.

“The Board of Supervisors and the Registrar of Voters remain committed to administering elections in Riverside County that are secure, accurate and in full compliance with state and federal law,” the statement said. “Our priority is supporting confidence in the election process and ensuring the Registrar of Voters is ready for the upcoming June 2 Primary Election.”