Steyer campaign staffer linked to video of rival Katie Porter berating staff
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A briefing memo obtained by The Times appears to support former Rep.Katie Porter’s accusation that a Tom Steyer staffer leaked a video of her yelling at an employee, an outburst that tainted her gubernatorial prospects when the video became public.The video, which was obtained in October by Politico, showed Porter erupting at a staff member who appeared in the background of a prerecorded Zoom call between the former congresswoman and then-Energy Secretary Jennifer Granholm.
During a nationally televised interview on CNN by Dana Bash on Monday, Porter accused the Steyer campaign of leaking the damaging video.“I am confident that is the case,” Porter said after Bash asked how she knew Steyer was the source.“I’ve been told by many people it’s a Department of Energy video, it was only held by the Department of Energy, and people can follow the trail to who his campaign staffers are and understand what happened there.”Following the CNN interview, Steyer’s campaign denied that the candidate was involved with the leak.“Tom has nothing to do with that video,” Steyer campaign spokesperson Sepi Esfahlani said after Porter levied the accusation on Monday.
“This is an attempt from Katie Porter to deflect from her past mistakes.Katie Porter only has one person to blame for her standing in the race, and it’s herself.”According to a briefing memo from the meeting obtained by The Times, Steyer spokesman Kevin Liao was listed as an “expected participant” on the video call between Granholm and Porter, which took place on June 21, 2021, and was filmed to promote electric vehicles by the Biden administration.
Granholm and Liao were the only participants listed from the Energy Department, according to the document obtained by The Times.“This is a 20 minute recorded Zoom with Energy Secretary Jennifer Granholm to discuss the importance of investing in electric vehicle...