Fiedler Misstates Facts of Inquiry, Prosecutor Says

Rep. Bobbi Fiedler, in appearances on television and radio Sunday, incorrectly stated that both the U.S. attorney and the California attorney general did not believe an investigation of her was warranted based on state Sen. Ed Davis’ report that the Fiedler campaign was trying to lure him out of the Republican U.S. Senate race with a campaign contribution, a top Los Angeles County prosecutor said Sunday.

Chief Deputy Dist. Atty. Gilbert I. Garcetti also said Fiedler incorrectly stated that once Davis’ complaint had reached the Los Angeles County district attorney’s office, that office had no choice but to investigate the matter.

Saying that Fiedler was “absolutely wrong” in both cases, Garcetti added: “I don’t know if she is being intentionally deceitful, or if she is talking about something she doesn’t know anything about.”

On KNBC’s “News Conference” program Sunday morning, reporter Saul Halpert pressed Fiedler to explain why the district attorney’s office has investigated her if, as she has stated, the entire circumstance was a “political dirty trick” played by Davis.

Fiedler replied: “Ed Davis went to Michael Bradbury, the district attorney of Ventura County. There was (then) a contact with the attorney general, who said, ‘There’s nothing here.’ There was a contact with the U.S. attorney, where they said, ‘There is nothing here.’ What I personally believe is that he (Davis) went shopping through the legal process to try to find someone who would be required to conduct an investigation since the initial contacts had said, ‘Look, there is nothing here.’

“And eventually Davis probably realized, as a former police chief, that if he filed a complaint with the district attorney in Los Angeles County that they are required by law to conduct an investigation. Then it simply went from there. . . . That is something that was not required of the attorney general or the United States attorney. . . .”

Comment on Radio

On KABC radio’s “Michael Reagan Show” Sunday afternoon, Fiedler went into the matter again, saying that while both the attorney general and the U.S. attorney saw nothing worth investigating, “he (Davis) being very familiar with the criminal justice system . . . realized that if he went to the D.A. in our county, the D.A. would be required to investigate.”

But Garcetti said Sunday night: “She is wrong in every respect. Let me tell you exactly what happened. Ed Davis went to Bradbury and Bradbury knew it was not in his jurisdiction and also that he had a conflict, because he is supporting Davis (in the Senate race).

“Bradbury contacted the state attorney general and the U.S. attorney and at about the same time contacted our office, informing us of the allegation. The Los Angeles district attorney’s office had jurisdiction, not the attorney general’s office or the U.S. attorney.

“At no time did either of those offices say there is ‘nothing here.’ The state attorney general’s office knows of the state election statute violated in the case, but will always refer the case to the local district attorney’s office. As for the U.S. attorney, there is no federal Election Code violation that anyone is aware of. But to say that they saw nothing here is ludicrous and as you will see, the facts did substantiate an investigation.

“Finally,” Garcetti said, “Fiedler is incorrect that the attorney general and the U.S. attorney have the discretion not to investigate while this office is required to investigate.

No Mandate Seen

“We are not mandated by law to either investigate or prosecute any case. . . . This office could have called off the investigation at any time. The investigation lasted for approximately two months. If anything had happened during the investigation that would have led us to conclude we were wasting our time, we could have stopped the investigation. That was not the case.”

Fiedler could not be reached Sunday night for comment on Garcetti’s statements.

Fiedler, 48, and her top adviser, Paul Clarke, 39, were indicted Jan. 23 on charges that they offered a $100,000 campaign contribution to Davis to get him to withdraw from the Republican U.S. Senate primary. They were indicted under a little-known state law that makes it a felony to pay or offer to pay someone to quit a political race.

Fiedler lives in Northridge and Davis lives in Valencia and both represent parts of Los Angeles and Ventura counties.

At the behest of prosecutors, Davis’ campaign manager, Martha Zilm, secretly taped her discussions with Fiedler and Clarke over the two months of the investigation.

In her appearances on Sunday, Fiedler said the tapes would prove that she is innocent. Garcetti said the tapes will be turned over to Fiedler and Clarke’s attorneys today and could be released by them to the public immediately if they so choose.