Bass and her office have said she was in constant communication while she was out of the country. But it’s impossible to know exactly what she was communicating, because her messages were not saved, according to a city lawyer.

And let’s not forget Deputy Mayor Brian Williams, hired by Bass in March 2023 to work closely with public safety departments, including LAFD. He wasn’t on the job in January because he was placed on administrative leave in December after the FBI raided his home. Williams allegedly called in a bomb threat to City Hall.

The Times filed a public records request for text messages sent or received by the mayor while she was in transit on Jan. 7 or Jan. 8 that mentioned fire response or her travel plans. Attorney David Michaelson says there is “no requirement that a city official or employee save text messages.

Mayor Karen Bass' text messages from the first days of the January wildfires were deleted, according to a Los Angeles Times report.

An attorney for Bass' office claims that public record laws do not apply to text messages, and that Bass' phone is set up to automatically delete her text messages.