The California senator has been reappointed as insurance chairman despite questions about a corruption probe

The leader of the California Senate has reappointed the former chair of the House Insurance Committee despite uncertainty over her possible involvement in a federal corruption investigation.

On Friday, Senate President Pro Tempore Mike McGuire announced he was reappointing Democratic Sen. Susan Rubio of West Covina to chair the committee after the seat had been vacant for three weeks.

“Senator Rubio Chairs Insurance Committee Since 2019 and I have confidence in her experience and ability to lead the committee as the state faces unprecedented challenges in the insurance market,” McGuire said in an emailed statement, referring to the Los Angeles fires.

Insurance commission chairman was the only one McGuire left vacant when he announced his commission appointments on Jan. 3. McGuire told CalMatters that he was “waiting for additional information from the U.S. Attorney’s Office before finalizing any decisions.”

McGuire said in a statement Friday: “The Senate takes allegations of unethical and criminal conduct extremely seriously, which is why I have directed Senate legal counsel to seek answers as to whether there was misconduct involving a member of the Senate. What we’ve learned: The US Attorney’s Office has not filed a case and no further information is available from the US Attorney’s Office.”

A spokesman for the U.S. Attorney’s Office in Los Angeles did not comment and referred CalMatters to Department of Justice Policy Guidelines that detail when federal prosecutors can publicly discuss investigations.

“The DOJ generally will not confirm the existence or otherwise comment on ongoing investigations,” it said. “DoJ staff will not answer questions about the existence of an ongoing investigation or comment on its nature or progress before charges are publicly filed.”

Federal officials have not identified Rubio by name in the corruption investigation that has ensnared a handful to other officials in San Bernardino, Compton, Commerce and Baldwin Park counties.

However, no one else fits the description of “Person 20”, which according to recently released federal court documents demanded $240,000 in bribes from a cannabis company and accepted $30,000 in illegal campaign contributions. The allegations stem from Rubio’s time as a member of the Baldwin Park City Council.

Rubio flatly denied accepting bribes in an interview with CalMatters reporting partner, CBS News aired Wednesday night. But when asked if she denies being a ’20 person’, she replied: ‘I’m not saying that.’

“I’m just saying you’ve read the report,” she continued. “And whatever goes on there goes on there, but I think (investigators) are going to have to contact me to be a part of all of that.”

Rubio’s office before that told the Los Angeles Times in a statement that she “volunteered hours of her time” helping authorities with their investigation and that she “has no reason to believe she will be involved in any criminal charges.”