LA Journalist Denies Senator Ghostwrote His Stories Amid Public Feud

Fired Los Angeles journalist Memo Torres has strongly refuted claims that California state Sen. Sasha Renee Perez assisted in ghostwriting his articles, labeling the accusations as a "smear campaign on my name, my work, my ethics, and my integrity." The dispute marks an escalating public war of words following Torres's termination from LA TACO.

Torres, 46, acknowledged in a recent Substack post that he had a brief romantic relationship with the Democratic lawmaker in early 2026. However, he adamantly denied that Perez ever wrote or influenced his reporting. "At no time did Senator Perez write any article under my byline, nor did she ever have access to edit, submit or publish any of my articles or Daily Memos," Torres stated.

The immigration reporter asserted that LA TACO's leadership was aware of his relationship with Perez from its inception. According to Torres, owner and co-founder Alex Bloomingdale and Editor-in-Chief Javier Cabral knew about the romance. He further claimed that the outlet reviewed his stories to ensure no preferential treatment was given to Perez.

Torres cited a written message from Bloomingdale as evidence, stating that Bloomingdale informed him after an internal review, "we did an internal investigation and found that nothing inappropriate happened, no coverage was altered, etc."

The public defense comes after LA TACO dismissed Torres, citing "repeated violations of its policies and journalistic standards." This internal process reportedly followed nearly five months of discussions, according to LA Material.

Torres also contested claims that he avoided responsibility, accusing sources close to his former employer of dishonesty. He argued that Senator Perez was being unfairly drawn into the controversy.

The journalist stated that his decision to leave LA TACO was primarily driven by what he perceived as the outlet's intention to reduce coverage of Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) raids in Southern California, an assertion that LA TACO denies.

"Despite what they say to the public, they absolutely wanted to lessen ICE reporting, something I actively voiced I was not happy about," Torres wrote. The publication, however, countered, "The rumor that we’ve turned our back on ICE coverage is a lie. And a dangerous one."

Torres, whose work has frequently focused on ICE activities, expressed concern that the controversy could detract from reporting he considers crucial, particularly with the midterm elections approaching. He described the current ICE surge as unprecedented and emphasized the urgency of continued reporting on the issue.