Karen Bass Campaign Funded Ethics Complaints Targeting Mayoral Rival Nithya Raman Over Influencer Disclosures

Los Angeles Mayor Karen Bass’ reelection campaign is financing the legal work behind new ethics complaints accusing City Councilmember Nithya Raman’s mayoral bid of failing to disclose payments to social media influencers, a strategy that weaponizes California’s strict digital advertising laws against a direct political opponent.

The complaints were filed with the state Fair Political Practices Commission and the Los Angeles Ethics Commission by Kaitlyn Hennessy and Beatrice Gomberg. Metadata embedded in draft filings last week revealed the documents were prepared using Kaufman Legal Group, the law firm retained by the Bass campaign. Hennessy confirmed the Bass operation directed her and Gomberg to the firm. A spokesperson for Bass acknowledged the campaign is covering the legal costs but stated the two filers are not receiving payment for their efforts.

California occupies an unusual position in U.S. election law as one of the only states mandating that social media creators explicitly disclose when they receive compensation from political campaigns. Federal election rules contain no equivalent requirement for paid content sponsored by federal candidates or political committees. At the municipal level, Los Angeles enforces even tighter restrictions than the state, requiring political committees to proactively notify paid creators of their disclosure obligations.

The financial stakes for violating these rules have recently escalated. New state legislation signed into law last month authorizes the FPPC to refer alleged violators to law enforcement for potential misdemeanor prosecution, carrying fines up to $5,000 per instance. The L.A. Ethics Commission holds separate authority to impose penalties reaching $15,000 or three times the financial amount at issue.

The latest filings center on promotional posts from comedian and television personality Adam Conover, alongside content from Eric Cheng, an influencer who transitioned into a paid staff role on the Raman campaign. The complaints also target a network of so-called meme accounts — pages that aggregate and repost third-party content, sometimes under direction from political operatives.

Both the Raman campaign and Conover deny any wrongdoing. Raman’s campaign stated it sought and followed guidance directly from L.A. Ethics Commission staff regarding Cheng’s specific disclosure requirements. According to the campaign, Cheng receives a salary for his official duties rather than compensation for personal social media posts, and he voluntarily announced his employment on his accounts before his start date.

Conover addressed payments made by the Raman campaign to a company connected to him, stating the funds compensated video production work performed by a staffer rather than his own promotional posts. Initial campaign finance filings categorized those expenditures as online advertisements, but the records were subsequently amended to reflect video production services.

Legal experts indicate that a campaign funding an ethics complaint against a rival does not inherently violate regulations, provided the expenditures appear accurately in mandatory financial disclosures. Jeffrey Daar, a former president of the L.A. Ethics Commission, noted that transparency in reporting expenditures removes the ethical barrier, even when lawyers file complaints on behalf of third parties with informed consent. The Bass campaign stated it intends to report the legal spending in its upcoming disclosure filings.

The scrutiny over Raman-aligned social media activity predates the involvement of the Bass campaign’s legal team. Former L.A. City Council candidate Dylan Kendall filed separate ethics complaints in May targeting Conover’s promotional posts. Both the FPPC and the L.A. Ethics Commission declined to comment on the status of those ongoing investigations or the newly submitted filings.

Hennessy and Gomberg, who previously lodged an ethics complaint against billionaire Tom Steyer’s California gubernatorial campaign, described their efforts as a broader investigation into undisclosed political content across multiple races nationwide. The FPPC concluded its probe into the Steyer campaign last month, clearing the operation of violations while finding that several influencers, including Cheng, failed to properly disclose payments they received from Steyer’s operation.

Timing remains a central variable in how these filings will be received by voters. Jessica Levinson, a Loyola Marymount University law professor and former L.A. Ethics Commission president, cautioned that late-cycle ethics complaints frequently generate political damage before regulatory bodies can evaluate their underlying merits.