Mayor's Press Team Uses Disappearing Whatsapp Messages, Avoiding Scrutiny

Mayor Karen Bass’ property relations agency communicates done WhatsApp messages that auto-delete each 24 hours, perchance shielding nan messages from nationalist records requests, according to 3 sources acquainted pinch nan office.

The property agency is nether scrutiny complete its usage of an unpaid advisor arsenic a spokesperson for nan first half of nan year. Just weeks aft nan consultant, Yusef Robb, ceased moving arsenic a spokesperson for nan city, he took a occupation doing situation communications for Lineage, whose acold nutrient retention installation successful Boyle Heights caught occurrence past month, spreading fume and foul odors. Robb continued to activity for Bass arsenic an informal advisor until The Times and different outlets reported his dual roles.

Even though he was nary longer a spokesperson, Robb remained successful respective WhatsApp group channels pinch mayoral property staffers, each group to auto-delete, until astatine slightest a week aft he started moving for Lineage, said 2 sources, who requested anonymity for fearfulness of master repercussions. L.A. Material first reported Robb’s beingness successful nan channels.

The Times has revenge a nationalist records petition for each messages that Robb received aliases sent to nan politician aliases her property agency betwixt June 1 and July 10, including WhatsApp messages. The metropolis administrative codification requires records to beryllium retained for astatine slightest 2 years.

The Bass management declined to remark connected nan property office’s usage of disappearing messages connected WhatsApp.

Bass herself has besides communicated done disappearing messages.

In consequence to a nationalist records petition from The Times for Bass’ texts successful nan aftermath of nan January 2025 Palisades fire, her agency initially declined to move complete immoderate messages. City lawyer David Michaelson told The Times that “texts are ephemeral types of physics communication” that aren’t taxable to nan metropolis grounds retention requirement.

He besides said Bass’ telephone was “set not to prevention matter messages.”

The metropolis yet recovered more than 100 messages to and from Bass during that play and released them to The Times.

The Times still sued nan city, alleging that it unlawfully withheld and deleted nan mayor’s matter messages and different nationalist records from nan catastrophic wildfire.

“Their contention is they don’t person to clasp them, and our contention is they do,” said Kelly Aviles, extracurricular counsel for The Times successful nan lawsuit, successful an question and reply Thursday.

In a tribunal filing, attorneys representing nan metropolis based on that keeping work-related messages for up to 2 years was “absurdly impractical.”

“The Times’ projected norm requires a grade of intrusion into City employees’ individual sphere that is, astatine nan very least, violative if not violative of California and national law rights,” wrote Reuben Camper Cahn, an lawyer for nan city.

In nan past, immoderate metropolis labor communicated pinch each different each different done Google Chat messages that auto-deleted aft a day.

In January 2025, nan metropolis stopped that practice and required that Google Chats beryllium saved “indefinitely.”

Retention of messages has besides been an rumor successful nan national government, pinch Secretary of State Marco Rubio mounting immoderate of his Signal chats to auto-delete.