Porter Fact-Checked After Accusing Steyer of Leaking Video, Warns Becerra Risks Democratic Loss

California gubernatorial candidate Katie Porter faced fact-checking on Monday after accusing rival Tom Steyer of leaking a damaging video and warning that Xavier Becerra could jeopardize Democrats in the state's jungle primary.

In an interview on CNN's "Inside Politics," Porter told host Dana Bash: "Well, given that Tom Steyer is the person who leaked the video with me and the staffer from five years ago, he pretty clearly wanted to be governor bad enough to knock me down to do it."

Bash ended the interview by stating that CNN had not verified Porter's claim about Steyer. "I should note that we don’t have evidence that Steyer leaked that video of you," Bash said. "If you have it, please bring it."

The video in question, from five years ago, showed Porter yelling "Get out of my f-----g shot!" at a staffer during a 2021 call. Porter claimed Steyer's campaign leaked the footage and said she had been told it came from the Department of Energy.

Sepi Esfahlani, a spokesperson for Steyer's campaign, denied the accusation to Fox News Digital. "Tom has nothing to do with that video," Esfahlani said. "This is an attempt from Katie Porter to deflect from her past mistakes. Katie Porter only has one person to blame for her standing in the race, and it’s herself."

Porter also attacked Becerra, the former U.S. Health and Human Services secretary and California attorney general, over an unresolved corruption probe tied to his old campaign account. "The simple fact is Secretary Becerra cannot promise Californians that he will not be named as a co-conspirator in this corruption charge," she said.

Bash pressed Porter on Becerra's repeated denials that he did anything wrong. "Are you saying that you don’t believe that that’s true?" Bash asked.

Porter replied that the matter was too uncertain for voters to overlook. "I do not have the facts here, but the people who are currently negotiating plea deals in Sacramento do," she said. "And if they implicate him, I have zero doubt that he will be indicted."

She argued that Democrats could not risk nominating Becerra if legal issues arose. "If he is, and the top two include him and Steve Hilton, we would wind up with a Republican governor," Porter added.

A Becerra spokesperson told Fox News Digital that Porter's claims were false and that federal investigators had already examined the matter. "Katie Porter is grasping at straws," the spokesperson said. "The FBI looked into this and found no wrongdoing by Xavier Becerra."

Bash closed by inviting Becerra to respond. "You said some pretty tough stuff about Xavier Becerra," she said. "If he wants to come back on the show, he is more than welcome to do that as well."