Democrat California Governor Gavin Newsom claimed Monday that Republican President Donald Trump has directed the U.S. Department of Justice (DOJ) to investigate him and his wife – but, any investigations were actually prompted by whistleblower complaints in California and are the expansion of a DOJ probe initiated during the Biden Administration.
“Today, my wife & I joined Donald Trump’s hit list. He has directed his Department of Justice to investigate us. They have not found a crime - they are simply trying to find one,” Gov. Newsom claimed in a social media post Monday, introducing a video of his accusations.
The current alleged investigations into the governor’s wife, Jennifer Siebel Newsom, and others in his sphere, stem from a corruption probe involving former Newsom Chief of Staff Dana Williamson.
“As part of an investigation that began in 2022, Williamson joins the two others who were charged in the ‘Conduit Scheme’ conspiracy in pleading guilty,” U.S. Attorney Eric Grant said in a May 14, 2026 press release announcing that Williamson had pleaded guilty to three counts of fraud.
Even reports by leftist news organizations belie Newsom’s claims.
“Newsom’s comments came a month after his former chief of staff, Dana Williamson, pleaded guilty to three federal felony counts in a case involving a scheme to steal campaign money from Xavier Becerra,” The Washington Post reported Monday:
“But at the time of her arrest last year, Williamson’s attorney, McGregor Scott, said she had been approached by the FBI in 2024 — during the Biden administration — about assisting with an investigation involving Newsom.”
Last November, Politico reported that “Dana Williamson, who was indicted on public corruption charges Wednesday, was interviewed by the FBI in November 2024, while still working as Newsom’s top aide.” “Newsom had known for a month that Williamson had been questioned by the FBI” before he placed her on leave, which led to her ultimate departure, according to Politico.
“That investigation, which was launched by President Joe Biden’s Justice Department, has expanded to include other staff, the person familiar with the matter said,” the Associated Press reported Monday, noting that “political leadership in Washington was not involved” in the decision to initiate the current investigations:
“A person familiar with the matter denied the existence of an investigation specifically targeting the governor, but said there are multiple federal probes into people around him, including one related to his wife’s taxes.
“That probe began last year, and political leadership in Washington was not involved in the decision to open it, said the person, who spoke on the condition of anonymity because they were not authorized to publicly discuss ongoing investigations.”
Likewise, KCRA-TV News in Sacramento reports that the current investigations were not launched at Pres. Trump’s direction:
“A source close to the situation who spoke on the condition they remain anonymous told KCRA 3 there are multiple federal investigations involving people related to Gov. Newsom that began a year ago through the U.S. Attorney's office in Sacramento.
“One is related to tax activity involving his wife Jennifer Siebel Newsom's nonprofit organizations.”
….
“The source said the investigations were launched because of complaints received by local and state investigators, not at the direction of President Trump or [U.S. Attorney General] Blanche.”
