California Gubernatorial Candidate Katie Porter Faces Fact-Check

Katie Porter, a candidate in the California gubernatorial race, was fact-checked on Monday after she alleged that her opponent, Tom Steyer, leaked a damaging video involving her. Additionally, she expressed concerns about Xavier Becerra potentially risking the Democratic party in the state’s jungle primary.

During a segment on CNN’s “Inside Politics,” Porter told host Dana Bash, “Given that Tom Steyer was the one who leaked the video of me and my staff five years ago, he clearly wanted to be governor enough to overthrow me.” Bash, however, pointed out that CNN had not verified Porter’s claims regarding Steyer’s involvement.

“It’s important to note that we have no evidence that Steyer leaked your video,” Bash stated. “Please bring it if you have it.”

Porter maintained that Steyer’s campaign was responsible for the breach years ago, claiming that a source had informed her that the footage originated from the Department of Energy.

In response, a spokesperson for Steyer’s campaign, Sepi Esfahrani, rejected Porter’s accusations. Esfahrani stated to Fox News Digital that Porter was attempting to distract from her own controversies. “Tom has nothing to do with that video,” she asserted. “This is an attempt by Katie Porter to distract from her past failures. The only person Katie Porter has to blame for her position in the race is herself.”

Porter didn’t stop there; she also took the opportunity to criticize Becerra, the former U.S. Secretary of Health and Human Services, over an unresolved corruption investigation tied to his former campaign account. “The simple fact is that Secretary Becerra cannot promise Californians that he will not be named as a co-conspirator in this case,” she said, referring to ongoing corruption charges.

When pressed by Bash about Becerra’s denials, Porter acknowledged that Becerra had claimed he did nothing wrong in the past. Bash asked, “Do you mean you don’t believe it’s true?” to which Porter responded that the matter remains too uncertain for voters to dismiss. “I don’t know the facts here, but the people negotiating plea deals right now in Sacramento do know the facts,” she commented. “And if they did implicate him, I have no doubt that he would be prosecuted.”

Porter emphasized that the California Democratic Party cannot afford to endorse a candidate who could face legal complications down the line.

A spokesperson for Becerra refuted Porter’s assertions, asserting that federal investigators found no wrongdoing. “Katie Porter is grasping at straws,” the spokesperson remarked. “The FBI investigated this and found no wrongdoing by Xavier Becerra.”

Bash concluded the segment by extending an invitation for Becerra to respond directly on the show, stating, “You said some pretty harsh things about Xavier Becerra. If he wants to come back, he’s more than welcome to do that.”