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The primary isn\u2019t until early June, but the CA-17 race<\/a> between five-term incumbent Ro Khanna and tech founder Ethan Agarwal is already getting nasty. Agarwal entered the race<\/a> in March, backed by a roster of prominent tech billionaires largely in response to Khanna\u2019s public support<\/a> for a proposed California ballot measure<\/a> that would impose a one-time 5% tax on residents worth more than $1 billion.<\/p>\n Agarwal, for his part, has been going after Khanna by primarily citing his stock trades while in office.<\/p>\n Now newsrooms covering the race have been receiving anonymous packages of digital court documents detailing Agarwal\u2019s legal past. The file includes a $683,000 personal judgment against him after he stopped making payments on a $2 million copyright settlement with Universal Music Group, which had accused his company Aaptiv \u2014 a workout app that paired audio coaching with licensed music \u2014 of using its recordings without permission; a nearly $2 million landlord lawsuit tied to Aaptiv\u2019s One World Trade Center office, filed in 2023 over a lease Aaptiv walked away from during COVID; and a 2019 federal lawsuit alleging adult content was downloaded from Agarwal\u2019s IP address. The last was brought by Malibu Media (a company that filed thousands of nearly identical suits against IP addresses across the country and was widely criticized as a legal shakedown operation). <\/p>\n The landlord case was later dropped; the Malibu Media case settled without any court finding of liability. The UMG judgment is the most substantive item in the file. Agarwal personally guaranteed the $2 million settlement before stopping payments three months from the finish line; the two sides later brokered another settlement. <\/p>\n Agarwal got ahead of at least one story himself. After the New York Post on Friday ran the headline<\/a> \u201cSilicon Valley tech candidate was sued for downloading lots of porn,\u201d Agarwal shared it<\/a> on social media, writing: \u201cI think transparency and authenticity is important among political candidates. We\u2019re people. We\u2019re not perfect. Yes, this is embarrassing. But now you know my worst thing.\u201d<\/p>\n Investor Chamath Palihapitiya, one of his prominent backers, weighed in soon after, tweeting<\/a> to Agarwal: \u201cThe opposition research has started on you because you may win and Ro is starting to get worried.\u201d<\/p>\n<\/div>\n