The race for California's 17th congressional district has turned hostile, with anonymous opposition research detailing the legal past of tech founder and challenger Ethan Agarwal. The documents were sent to newsrooms covering the contest between Agarwal and the five-term Democratic incumbent, Representative Ro Khanna.
The primary election is scheduled for early June. Agarwal entered the race in March, backed by several prominent tech billionaires. His candidacy is seen as a direct response to Khanna's public support for a proposed California ballot measure that would impose a one-time 5% tax on residents worth more than $1 billion.
Details of the Legal File
The anonymous file contains digital court documents outlining several legal cases involving Agarwal. The most substantive item is a $683,000 personal judgment against him. This stems from him stopping payments on a $2 million copyright settlement with Universal Music Group (UMG), which had accused his former company, the fitness app Aaptiv, of using its recordings without permission. Agarwal had personally guaranteed the settlement.
Other documents include a nearly $2 million lawsuit from a landlord tied to Aaptiv's office lease at One World Trade Center, filed in 2023 after the company walked away from the lease during the COVID-19 pandemic. This case was later dropped. The file also contains a 2019 federal lawsuit from Malibu Media alleging adult content was downloaded from an IP address linked to Agarwal; this case settled with no finding of liability.
Campaigns Trade Accusations
Agarwal has centred his campaign criticism on Khanna's stock trades while in office. Following a New York Post story headlined "Silicon Valley tech candidate was sued for downloading lots of porn," Agarwal addressed the issue on social media. He shared the article, writing, "I think transparency and authenticity is important among political candidates... Yes, this is embarrassing. But now you know my worst thing."
One of his prominent backers, investor Chamath Palihapitiya, subsequently tweeted to Agarwal, "The opposition research has started on you because you may win and Ro is starting to get worried."
Context of the Race
The CA-17 district is a Democratic stronghold encompassing much of Silicon Valley. Representative Ro Khanna, first elected in 2016, is a prominent progressive voice in Congress and serves as co-chair of Senator Bernie Sanders's 2024 presidential campaign. The contest highlights a growing tension within the tech industry between its traditional libertarian-leaning leaders and a more regulatory-minded political wing.
The two sides later brokered another settlement regarding the UMG judgment. With the primary months away, the emergence of this opposition research signals an intensifying and personal battle for one of the nation's most high-tech congressional seats.