SACRAMENTO — California Attorney General Rob Bonta spent $468,000 of his campaign cash on lawyers while reportedly being interviewed by federal authorities investigating Oakland’s former mayor and others in a sprawling federal bribery and corruption inquiry.

The longtime East Bay politician’s senior adviser, Dan Newman, told this news organization Wednesday that Bonta’s legal bills were for the sole purpose of “providing information that could be helpful to the investigation of those implicated” in the ongoing criminal probe.

Bonta — who lives in Alameda and has worked his way from city councilman to the state’s top prosecutor — was never a target of the investigation, Newman said.

“The AG’s involvement is over,” Newman added. “But this is an ongoing legal proceeding that we don’t want

See Full Page