Los Angeles Mayor Karen Bass is declining to answer questions under oath about her handling of the deadly Palisades Fire, according to the attorney representing former Los Angeles Fire Department Chief Kristin Crowley, whom Bass removed after the blaze.
Crowley’s attorney, Mia Munro, wants to question Bass about statements she allegedly made during a May mayoral debate. Those remarks are central to a defamation lawsuit Crowley filed against the mayor in June.
According to a source familiar with the case, Crowley’s legal team wants to establish what Bass knew, when she knew it and why she repeated the disputed claims during the debate.
Bass, through her attorney Ian Van Dusen, has declined to sit for a deposition. In a sworn statement, Munro said she was “advised that Bass would not agree to any discovery.”
In recent court filings, Munro said she was seeking “a limited deposition of Defendant Karen Bass, addressing the issue of Bass’ state of mind” when the mayor made the debate comments.
Bass’ office did not respond to a request for comment from The Post.
During the televised debate, which also featured candidates Nithya Raman and Spencer Pratt, Bass was asked about cuts to the LAFD’s operating budget and reports that some fire engines were out of service when the Palisades Fire erupted.
“The primary problem there was that the chief sent home a thousand firefighters,” Bass replied.
Bass added that “there were also fire trucks that were out of use because she had sent the firefighters home” and that firefighters were supposed to have been deployed or pre-deployed in the area, but “that did not happen.”
“Each statement is false, and Bass knew it,” Crowley’s complaint states. The lawsuit argues that official LAFD records available to Bass in her capacity as mayor contradicted the claims.
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Munro’s statement also says Bass has declined to acknowledge that the remarks she made during the debate were factual statements.
Crowley’s attorneys asked Bass to answer written discovery requests by admitting or denying that she made the statements. Van Dusen declined to have Bass respond and instead filed an anti-SLAPP motion.
“Bass has chosen not to sign a declaration attesting that the statements she made about (Crowley) at the Mayoral Debate were true, or that Bass believed that the statements were true,” Munro wrote.
Crowley’s legal team is also seeking clarity about who is covering Bass’ legal bills. “Is the City of Los Angeles? The lawsuit is based on Karen Bass, the candidate, not the official,” a person close to the case told The Post.
“Bass could not be sued individually if acting in the capacity of Mayor. She’s trying to use official immunity, but she made the comments on a campaign debate stage. Our tax dollars shouldn’t be paying for this,” the person added.
A judge is expected to rule on Crowley’s discovery motion November 2, one day before the election. The person familiar with the case characterized Bass’ refusal as politically motivated and said it was “very much rooted in her personal interest.”
Crowley filed the defamation lawsuit after a highly public dispute with Bass that began in the aftermath of the January 2025 Palisades Fire. The blaze destroyed nearly 7,000 structures and killed 12 people.
According to the lawsuit, Bass questioned Crowley’s decisions during the fire after the chief publicly criticized the mayor, who was in Ghana when the blaze began.
Bass dismissed Crowley as LAFD chief on February 21, 2025. Crowley was given a note stating: “Unfortunately, you have exercised management incompatible with what is required of leaders of City departments. One example is the decision to send 1,000 firefighters home instead of keeping them on duty the morning that the fires broke out,” according to the defamation complaint.
The lawsuit also alleges that Bass continued making false claims about Crowley, including that she refused to oversee an after-action report on the fire. It further accuses Bass of denying that the LAFD budget had been cut, blaming Crowley for failing to pre-deploy additional firefighters and faulting her for not personally calling Bass about the dangerous weather conditions.
Bass’ office was contacted for comment.