OAKLAND, Calif. (CN) — An Alameda grand jury investigation has revealed that former District Attorney Nancy O’Malley misused county property and violated numerous county policies during her successful 2018 reelection bid.
After reviewing hundreds of documents and interviewing over 30 people, the Alameda grand jury concluded Friday that roughly 25 district attorney staffers used county-owned computers and the county-operated email system to solicit funds for O’Malley during her 2018 campaign, among other violations.
According to the grand jury’s findings, the emails were sometimes used in coordination with police unions in other cities and counties to request their attendance at campaign events and to discuss campaign strategy.
Law enforcement spent large sums supporting O’Malley's candidacy in 2018, when she defeated current District Attorney Pamela Price, who ran on a progressive platform that included holding the police more accountable, ending racial disparities in prosecutions, ending the mass incarceration of communities of color, and stopping the prosecution of minors as adults.
Witness testimony revealed that numerous county policies — including policies regarding election-related behavior, such as the Appropriate Computer Use Policy and the Appropriate Use of Telecommunication and Information Technology Systems Policy — were either not understood or ignored by O’Malley’s staff in order to support O’Malley’s reelection bid.
The grand jury also found that O’Malley’s administration knew that employees were violating county policies but did not hold any staff accountable for the misconduct.
Other violations included requests from district attorney staff to donate to O’Malley’s campaign, as well as attending campaign events, distributing of campaign flyers, and participating in photographs that district attorney staff believed were used to help her candidacy.
Current District Attorney Pamela Price and the entire DA’s office were recused from the investigation.
“The grand jury uncovered behavior that is unacceptable and especially inexcusable for lawyers. Our new administration will not make those same mistakes or violate the laws and policies ignored by the previous administration,” Price said in a statement. “We will not sacrifice our integrity or the public trust for political gain. In the Alameda County District Attorney’s Office of today, you can no longer prosecute the law and violate the law at the same time. While I was not part of the grand jury’s investigation, I agree with the grand jury — the residents of Alameda County deserve better.”
O’Malley invited controversy in 2017 when she accepted a $10,000 donation from the Fremont police union while she was investigating the shooting of a pregnant teenager by Fremont police. One of the officers who shot the teenager was the president of the Fremont police union. O’Malley later cleared all officers, including the union president, of wrongdoing.
In her final days in office, O’Malley attempted to persuade county supervisors to transfer $20 million from the District Attorney Consumer and Environmental Trust account into a general fund to expand programs she founded to help domestic violence victims and low-level criminal offenders who suffered from mental illness or drug addiction. Price said O’Malley never notified her about the request.
O’Malley served as the Alameda County District Attorney from 2010 to 2022. In May 2021, she announced that she would not seek a fourth term in 2023.
A request for comment from O’Malley was not returned before publishing time.
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