CA governor's race: Katie Porter addresses leaked video of her yelling at staffer

Updated 2 hours ago
SAN FRANCISCO (KGO) -- A new twist in the California governor's race. The Los Angeles Times reports a Tom Steyer campaign staffer leaked a video in which Katie Porter was caught berating an employee.

The Times says a briefing memo shows Kevin Liao, who's now a Steyer spokesperson, was supposed to film and edit the video for the Department of Energy and put it on social media.

The encounter between Porter and her staffer was leaked to Politico and damaged her gubernatorial bid.

MORE: Who's running for California governor? See list of candidates for 2026 election

She tells ABC7 Eyewitness News the report raises questions.



"It was official government work- I was doing official business and it is against the law to take government property and use it for personal or campaign purposes. So I think that's a government ethics issue. I think it raises questions about whether his conduct was legal," Porter said.

Steyer's campaign denies the candidate had anything to do with the leak.

We reached out to Liao but he declined to comment.

TOMORROW: Watch the full interview with Katie Porter on ABC7 Eyewitness News at 6 p.m.

If you're on the ABC7 News app, click here to watch live
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