Los Angeles City Councilman John Lee Found to Have Violated Gift Laws
Los Angeles City Councilman John Lee has been found to have repeatedly violated the city’s gift laws in 2016 and 2017, according to a 59-page proposed decision by Administrative Law Judge Ji-Lan Zang. The judge concluded that Lee committed two counts of violating a law governing the size of gifts a city official can receive and three counts of violating a law requiring that such gifts be publicly disclosed.
The violations occurred during a lavish trip to Las Vegas and at multiple restaurants in Los Angeles, where Lee accepted freebies from individuals seeking to do business with City Hall. The gifts included food, alcohol, hotel stays, transportation, and $1,000 in gambling chips. Lee’s actions were deemed “not credible” by Judge Zang, who described his testimony as “evasive and self-contradictory.”
Background and Investigation
The investigation into Lee’s actions began after federal prosecutors accused former City Councilmember Mitchell Englander of accepting $15,000 in cash from businessman Andy Wang and lying to FBI agents. Englander ultimately pleaded guilty to providing false information to the FBI and was sentenced to 14 months in prison. Lee, who was Englander’s chief of staff at the time, was not charged by federal prosecutors but was accused by city ethics investigators of violating gift laws.
The Los Angeles City Ethics Commission is scheduled to make a determination on the case, deciding on the number of violations Lee committed and any financial penalties to impose on him. The commission has the power to accept or reject Judge Zang’s recommendations, which include a $43,730 penalty for Lee. Ethics investigators have recommended a more punitive approach, suggesting a fine of around $138,000 and holding Lee responsible for all 10 counts of violating city laws.
Gifts and Violations
The gifts received by Lee included a dinner worth nearly $2,500 at the Aria hotel in Las Vegas, as well as multiple rounds of bottle service at the Hakkasan Nightclub, each costing around $8,000. Lee testified that he did not eat during some of the meals and did not remember eating during others, but Judge Zang found these claims to be “not credible.”
Lee’s attorneys have argued that the statute of limitations has expired on the city ethics counts and have pushed back on the recommended penalty, calling it “inflated” and “not grounded in reason.” However, the city ethics investigators have accused Lee of committing 10 counts of violating city laws, including accepting gifts in excess of the legal limit and failing to report those gifts on his public disclosure forms.
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