Supervisor Curt Hagman skipped the Tuesday, Aug. 4, San Bernardino County Board of Supervisors meeting, the first such session since his office was searched last week by the FBI.
Hagman was one of four people whose homes and offices were searched by the FBI on July 28.
In addition to Hagman’s Chino Hills home and district office, federal agents also served search warrants at the Ontario home of that city’s Mayor Pro Tem Alan Wapner. The Rancho Cucamonga home and Ontario office of attorney Frank Lizarraga were also searched, as were the West Covina home and office of James Su, the founder and president of EDI Media Inc., a Chinese-language media company. Subpoenas were also served at Ontario City Hall and Ontario International Airport.
The FBI has not said what it was searching for, only saying the warrants are sealed. No one has been arrested or indicted in connection with the July 28 raids. The operations follow federal probes alleging ties between local government officials and agents of the Chinese government. In May, former Arcadia Mayor Eileen Wang resigned from the city council after she was charged with acting as an agent of the Chinese government.
Tuesday’s supervisors meeting was a standard one, with much of the time taken up with public hearings about a proposed gas station in Piñon Hills and a campground proposal in Joshua Tree. After the public hearing, the board broke for a 30-minute lunch and was expected to return at 12:30 p.m.
Dozens of people attended Tuesday morning. Before the meeting, county employees could be heard chatting about last week’s FBI raids, passing along what they’d read or heard in news reports.
More on the FBI raids
- FBI raids share threads with investigations into Chinese influence in Southern California
- From ONT boosters to Chinese-language media, the four men tied to this week’s FBI searches
- Who is Frank Lizarraga, former Ontario planning commissioner linked to FBI probe?
- What we know about FBI raids in the Inland Empire, other Southern California sites
- Lancaster mayor says Southern California FBI raids likely looking for Chinese influence schemes
- Who is James Su, the West Covina media executive linked to FBI probe?
- After FBI raids, Ontario mayor wants Alan Wapner off council committees, airport board
- Who is Curt Hagman, fixture in San Bernardino County politics linked to FBI probe?
- Who is Alan Wapner, the Ontario council member linked to FBI investigation?
- Ties strong between San Bernardino County elected officials, West Covina businessman implicated in FBI probe
- FBI serves warrants at locations tied to elected officials in San Bernardino County
Hagman and Wapner, both San Bernardino County elected officials, have long championed Ontario International Airport. The men were part of the successful effort to return it to local control after decades of it being managed by Los Angeles. Today, they serve on the Ontario International Airport Authority board. Wapner is president and Hagman is vice president.
Hagman has been a fixture of Inland Empire politics for more than 25 years. He was appointed to the Chino Hills Parks and Recreation Commission in 2000, then spent a term on the Chino Hills City Council, starting in 2004, including a year as mayor in 2008. After that came six years in the Assembly, including serving as Assembly Republican Leader. He left that office in 2014 due to term limits and has represented the Fourth District, which includes the cities of Chino, Chino Hills, Montclair, Ontario and the southern part of Upland.
He wasn’t the only target of last week’s raids with a scheduled public meeting Tuesday.
The Ontario City Council, including Wapner, is scheduled to hold its first meeting since the raids at 6:30 p.m. Tuesday.
This is a developing story. Check back for updates.