Part 118: Publishing the LA Fed Papers - Trial and Error Justice in the Digital Age

Part 118: Publishing the LA Fed Papers – Trial and Error Justice in the Digital Age

Zachary Ellison
Oct 09, 2024

By Zachary Ellison, Independent Journalist

Link: Kevin de León vs. Santos Leon and Karla Vasquez.pdf (Case No. 23STCV24461)

https://www.dropbox.com/scl/fi/mfeu5r23cfzcqvpo1drwc/Kevin-de-Leon-vs.-Santos-Leon-and-Karla-Vasquez.pdf?rlkey=3webxkpyanzhgaqqpiohe6x4e&st=w0k2htkh&dl=0

Link: Gil Cedillo vs. Santos Leon, Karla Vasquez, and LA Fed.pdf (Case No. 23STCV24442)

https://www.dropbox.com/scl/fi/01mqd58i7m47vz24htq93/Gil-Cedillo-vs.-Santos-Leon-Karla-Vasquez-and-LA-Fed.pdf?rlkey=vethdyh4hov9sg77obkrveu96&st=23ubq5dr&dl=0

Two years ago, Los Angeles was rocked by the biggest political scandal perhaps ever in its history. Outside of valuable reports from Los Angeles Magazine journalist Michele McPhee and this publication, there hasn’t been much other coverage of the two civil cases pending in Los Angeles County Superior Court since they were filed a year after the October 2022 scandal in October of 2023. So I’m pleased to be able to make the complete case files for the lawsuits filed by current Los Angeles City Councilmember Kevin de León and former City Councilmember Gil Cedillo fully available. To date, although these records have been quoted by both McPhee and myself, they haven’t been fully published to show the full proceedings. As recent controversy has reminded us, court records are public records, and the publication of such records is essential for a free and transparent press. Spend enough time in Los Angeles, and you’ll come to realize that working together to investigate gets you much further and faster.

Kevin de León’s lawsuit has progressed much faster than Cedillo’s, which has an additional party beyond the two publicly accused leakers of the LA Fed Tapes, Santos Leon and Karla Vasquez, both former employees of the LA Fed, short for the Los Angeles County Federation of Labor, AFL-CIO. The LA Fed remains a potent force of union power in Los Angeles politics, even as other unions such as the Service Employees International Union have made gains. In suing the LA Fed itself, Cedillo’s lawsuit is even more of a gamble than Kevin de León’s filing. The LA Fed is no longer led by former president Ron Herrera. Instead, it’s now led by Yvonne Wheeler, who is a veteran of the labor movement and Baton Rouge, Louisiana native. Herrera, along with former Council President Nury Martinez, De León, and Cedillo, were infamously clandestinely and quite illegally recorded on October 18, 2021, meeting in a conference room at the LA Fed’s headquarters for what critics call a backroom meeting.

Link: https://zacharyellison.substack.com/p/part-118-publishing-the-la-fed-papers