City Attorney’s Top Assistant Says Bar Probe May Be Political
The top assistant to San Diego City Attorney Michael Aguirre said yesterday that a California bar investigation of his boss might be politically motivated.
Don McGrath, Aguirre’s top assistant, said yesterday that “somebody’s pressuring” the bar’s lead investigator to move ahead with the probe, the San Diego Union-Tribune reports.
“I will say there is somebody at the top that is pushing the buttons, and I am sure it is a great political thing to hang this over his head,” McGrath said, according to an account by Fox6 News.
One issue in the investigation is whether Aguirre had authority to pursue a lawsuit seeking to eliminate some pension benefits for city workers, the newspaper explains. Aguirre maintains he has that authority regardless of the city’s stance. Yesterday the city council agreed to waive attorney-client privilege and give the bar transcripts of a private meeting in which it discussed Aguirre’s authority to file the suit.
McGrath said the bar probe was due in part to a complaint by the city council president, who is running against Aguirre for city attorney. He also mentioned a member of the bar’s board of governors who is “against Mike,” but said he doesn’t know if she is influencing the investigation.
The bar denies outside interference. It has sought copies of legal bills from law firms that performed legal work for Aguirre as part of its investigation.
