{"id":2595031,"date":"2026-04-25T11:48:58","date_gmt":"2026-04-25T15:48:58","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/watch-nick-shirley-confront-california-dems-trying-to-criminalize-exposing-fraud\/"},"modified":"2026-04-25T11:52:15","modified_gmt":"2026-04-25T15:52:15","slug":"watch-nick-shirley-confront-california-dems-trying-to-criminalize-exposing-fraud","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/watch-nick-shirley-confront-california-dems-trying-to-criminalize-exposing-fraud\/","title":{"rendered":"Watch Nick Shirley Confront California Dems Trying to Criminalize Exposing Fraud"},"content":{"rendered":"<aside class=\"mashsb-container mashsb-main mashsb-stretched\"><div class=\"mashsb-box\"><div class=\"mashsb-count mash-medium\" style=\"&quot;\"><div class=\"counts mashsbcount\">22<\/div><span class=\"mashsb-sharetext\">SHARES<\/span><\/div><div class=\"mashsb-buttons\"><a class=\"mashicon-facebook mash-medium mash-nomargin mashsb-noshadow\" href=\"https:\/\/www.facebook.com\/sharer.php?u=https%3A%2F%2Fwww.conservativenewsdaily.net%2Fbreaking-news%2Fwatch-nick-shirley-confront-california-dems-trying-to-criminalize-exposing-fraud%2F\" target=\"_top\" rel=\"nofollow\"><span class=\"icon\"><\/span><span class=\"text\">Facebook<\/span><\/a><a class=\"mashicon-twitter mash-medium mash-nomargin mashsb-noshadow\" href=\"https:\/\/twitter.com\/intent\/tweet?text=&amp;url=https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/?p=2595031&amp;via=ConservNewsDly\" target=\"_top\" rel=\"nofollow\"><span class=\"icon\"><\/span><span class=\"text\">Twitter<\/span><\/a><a class=\"mashicon-subscribe mash-medium mash-nomargin mashsb-noshadow\" href=\"#\" target=\"_top\" rel=\"nofollow\"><span class=\"icon\"><\/span><span class=\"text\">Subscribe<\/span><\/a><div class=\"onoffswitch2 mash-medium mashsb-noshadow\" style=\"display:none\"><\/div><\/div>\n            <\/div>\n                <div style=\"clear:both\"><\/div><\/aside>\n            <!-- Share buttons by mashshare.net - Version: 4.0.47--><p>self-reliant journalist Nick Shirley challenges california lawmakers over Assembly Bill 2624 (the so\u2011called \u201cstop Nick Shirley Act\u201d) in a 25\u2011minute YouTube interview released April 18, as the bill moves through the Assembly\u2019s Privacy and Consumer Protection and Judiciary committees. The article frames AB 2624 as aimed at criminalizing investigative journalism into fraud, and it documents Shirley\u2019s questions to lawmakers about the bill\u2019s intent, including a moment where he suggests it could suppress reporting tied to immigrant communities.<\/p>\n<p>Responses from lawmakers are mixed; some are polite, while Democratic State Sen. Scott Wiener verbally attacks shirley. Republican Assemblyman Carl DeMaio labels AB 2624 as an effort to silence investigative journalism, citing alleged fraud cases such as Somali-run <a href=\"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/gov-newsom-announces-statewide-vaccine-mandate-for-california-healthcare-workers\/\" title=\"Gov. ...om Announces Statewide Vaccine Mandate For ... Healthcare Workers\">day care centers<\/a>.The piece also references 2017 charges against undercover journalists David Daleiden and Sandra Merritt in Planned Parenthood investigations (the last charge dropped April 3) and notes Shirley\u2019s recent videos probing welfare fraud in Minnesota and hospice centers in Los Angeles,which federal and state actions have highlighted as fraud concerns.<\/p>\n<p>Additional context includes a <a href=\"https:\/\/amzn.to\/3YuVZYV\" >federal anti\u2011fraud task force suspending funding<\/a> to about 450 hospices in the Los Angeles area and Health and Human Services Secretary Kennedy Jr.\u2019s remarks about hospice fraud costs. The article also mentions Washington state proposals to exempt data about day care centers from public records laws.Licensing, republishing rights, and related ad prompts from DCNF and The Western Journal are included in the closing notes.  <\/p>\n<p class=\"readmore\">\n    <button onclick=\"showReadMore()\" id=\"readmorebtn\">Read more&#8230;<\/button>\n<\/p>\n<hr id=\"line\">\n<span id=\"more\"><br \/>\n <?xml encoding=\"utf-8\" ?><?xml encoding=\"utf-8\" ?><?xml encoding=\"utf-8\" ?><\/p>\n<header> \t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t<a href=\"https:\/\/www.westernjournal.com\/news\/\"> \t\t\t\t \t\t\t\tNews\t\t\t<\/a> \t\t<\/p>\n<div>\n<p>Nick Shirley testifies at a House Judiciary subcommittee hearing on Jan. 21, 2026 in Washington, DC. (Mariam Zuhaib \/ AP Photo)<\/p>\n<\/div>\n<p>\t\t\t \t\t\t\t\t<span> \t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t<\/p>\n<p><a href=\"https:\/\/www.westernjournal.com\/author\/dcnf\/\"> \t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t \t\t\t\t\t\t\t<\/a> \t\t\t\t\t\t<\/p>\n<p> \t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t<span> \t\t\t\t \t\t\t\t&nbsp;By <a href=\"https:\/\/www.westernjournal.com\/author\/dcnf\/%20\"><span>Harold Hutchison<\/span><\/a>  \t\t\t\t\t\t\t<\/span>  \t\t\t<span> \t\t\t\t \t\t\t\t&nbsp;April 25, 2026 at 6:00am\t\t\t<\/span> \t\t<\/span> \t\t\t\t<\/header>\n<section>\n<p>Independent journalist Nick Shirley confronted California lawmakers seeking to criminalize investigative journalism which exposes fraud in a video posted April 18.<\/p>\n<p>Democratic California State Assemblywoman Mia Bonta, the wife of Democratic California Attorney General Rob Bonta, introduced <a href=\"https:\/\/legiscan.com\/CA\/text\/AB2624\/id\/3371241\">Assembly Bill 2624<\/a> (AB2624) in February.<\/p>\n<p>In a 25-minute YouTube video posted Saturday, Shirley interviews multiple lawmakers about the bill, which has <a href=\"https:\/\/leginfo.legislature.ca.gov\/faces\/billTextClient.xhtml?bill_id=202520260AB2624\">moved<\/a> through the Assembly&rsquo;s Privacy and Consumer Protection and Judiciary committees.<\/p>\n<p><iframe loading=\"lazy\" title=\"I Investigated California's \" stop nick shirley act to protect fraudsters width=\"500\" height=\"281\" src=\"https:\/\/www.youtube.com\/embed\/leN6LYJlFUM?feature=oembed\" frameborder=\"0\" allow=\"accelerometer; autoplay; clipboard-write; encrypted-media; gyroscope; picture-in-picture; web-\" referrerpolicy=\"strict-origin-when-cross-origin\" allowfullscreen><\/iframe><\/p>\n<p>&ldquo;It was only until I exposed fraud that they actually cracked down on the fraud and made some arrests here, especially with the hospices. And do you know that, if this bill were to pass, it&rsquo;d make it illegal for someone to go after fraud, especially if it&rsquo;s based off of immigrants &mdash; for instance, Armenians in California?&rdquo; Shirley asked one lawmaker.<\/p>\n<p>&ldquo;So this bill, A.K.A [as known as] the Stop Nick Shirley Act, tell us about it,&rdquo; Shirley asked another lawmaker.<\/p>\n<p>&ldquo;Well, there is no Stop Nick Shirley Act, but the author is not here today, but I hope you can find her,&rdquo; the lawmaker responded.<\/p>\n<p>While most lawmakers were polite in their interactions with Shirley, Democratic State Sen. Scott Wiener, who is running for a seat in the U.S. House of Representatives, seemingly verbally attacked the <a href=\"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/exclusive-independent-journalist-tayler-hansen-a-riot-that-turned-deadly-what-i-witnessed-at-the-us-capitol-riot\/\" title=\"EXCLUSIVE: Independent Journalist Tayler Hansen: A Riot that Turned Deadly, What I Witnessed at the US Capitol Riot\">independent journalist<\/a>.<\/p>\n<p>&ldquo;I think you&rsquo;re a psycho scam artist,&rdquo; Wiener said before departing from Shirley.<\/p>\n<p>Republican California State Assemblyman Carl DeMaio dubbed AB2624 the &ldquo;Stop Nick Shirley Act,&rdquo; in a Monday <a href=\"https:\/\/ad75.asmrc.org\/2026\/04\/13\/ca-democrats-advance-stop-nick-shirley-act-to-criminalize-investigative-journalism\/\">statement<\/a>, framing it as a Democrat effort to prevent exposing fraud and abuse, such as purported day care centers run by Somali migrants.<\/p>\n<p>In March 2017, California charged David Daleiden and Sandra Merritt with 15 felony counts for engaging in undercover journalism in Planned Parenthood clinics and exposing the sale of fetal tissue.<\/p>\n<p>After a legal fight stretching roughly a decade, the last charge was dropped&nbsp;April 3.<\/p>\n<p>Shirley thrust the issue of welfare fraud in Minnesota into the national spotlight in December after he <a href=\"https:\/\/x.com\/nickshirleyy\/status\/2004642794862961123\">posted<\/a> a 42-minute video featuring his visiting multiple purported day care centers run by Somali migrants.<\/p>\n<p>He also <a href=\"https:\/\/x.com\/nickshirleyy\/status\/2033708929398845886\">posted<\/a> a 40-minute video in March investigating hospice centers in the Los Angeles area, at one point claiming he uncovered at least $170 million in fraud.<\/p>\n<p>An anti-fraud task force led by Vice President JD Vance <a href=\"https:\/\/grabien.com\/file?id=3480660\">suspended<\/a> federal funding Wednesday to nearly 450 hospices in the Los Angeles area suspected of facilitating fraud.<\/p>\n<p>Secretary of Health and Human Services Robert F. Kennedy Jr. told the House Ways and Means Committee on Thursday the hospice fraud in Los Angeles cost American taxpayers $5 billion.<\/p>\n<p>In Washington state, one lawmaker introduced&nbsp;legislation to exempt information about day care centers from public records laws after citizen journalists began&nbsp;<a href=\"https:\/\/x.com\/Breaking911\/status\/2005696904387256774\">probing<\/a> Somali-run day care centers in a similar fashion to Shirley&rsquo;s investigation in Minneapolis.<\/p>\n<p>All content created by the Daily Caller News Foundation, an independent and nonpartisan newswire service, is available without charge to any legitimate news publisher that can provide a large audience. All republished articles must include our logo, our reporter&rsquo;s byline and their DCNF affiliation. For any questions about our guidelines or partnering with us, please contact&nbsp;<a href=\"http:\/\/www.westernjournal.com\/mailto:licensing@dailycallernewsfoundation.org\">licensing@dailycallernewsfoundation.org<\/a>.<\/p>\n<p>Advertise with The Western Journal and reach millions of highly engaged readers, while supporting our work. <a href=\"https:\/\/www.westernjournal.com\/advertise-us\/?wj_source=article\">Advertise Today<\/a>.<\/p>\n<\/section>\n<p><\/span><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>Shirley opposes bill to curb fraud-exposing journalism<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":2595032,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_mo_disable_npp":"","fifu_image_url":"https:\/\/www.westernjournal.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/04\/Michael-Featured-Image-968.jpg","fifu_image_alt":"","footnotes":""},"categories":[33651],"tags":[78575,78576,76435,41685],"class_list":["post-2595031","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-the-western-journal","tag-californiadems","tag-exposefraud","tag-nickshirley","tag-politicalcontroversy"],"fifu_image_url":"https:\/\/www.westernjournal.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/04\/Michael-Featured-Image-968.jpg","_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/2595031","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=2595031"}],"version-history":[{"count":3,"href":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/2595031\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":2595035,"href":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/2595031\/revisions\/2595035"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/2595032"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=2595031"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=2595031"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=2595031"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}