California Gov. Gavin Newsom’s 2028 presidential ambitions are so shameless, he is already trying to spin a federal investigation into a campaign ad.
Newsom released a dramatic video statement Monday announcing that he and his wife, Jennifer Siebel Newsom, are under federal investigation… and blamed the president.
“After calling for my arrest last year, Donald Trump directed his Department of Justice to investigate me,” Newsom declared. “And just in the last week, I’ve learned his campaign has reached my own home: to get me, he’s coming after my wife, Jen.”
“Today, my wife and 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. He isn’t coming after me because of mean tweets, but because I am considering running for President.”
Federal sources told a different story.
According to The Washington Examiner, there are multiple federal investigations originating out of California, including the Eastern District of California — the Sacramento-based federal prosecutor’s office.
Those investigations, a source told The Examiner, “have not been directed by Department of Justice headquarters and are understood to have originated from whistleblowers and sources within California’s state government communicating with local federal prosecutors.”
The Washington Times separately confirmed the probe related to Siebel Newsom’s tax filings was initiated last year by prosecutors in Sacramento, not on orders from Washington. CBS News confirmed two sources corroborating that account.
A second investigation involves Newsom’s former chief of staff Dana Williamson, who was indicted last year on nearly two dozen federal charges and has since pleaded guilty to three counts.
Williamson pleaded guilty to conspiracy to commit bank and wire fraud, filing a false tax return, and lying to an FBI agent. She, and at least two other co-conspirators, allegedly conspired to funnel funds from former Health and Human Services Secretary Xavier Becerra’s dormant campaign account, investigators said.
The California Partners Project, a woke nonprofit co-founded by Siebel Newsom in 2020, sits at the center of the scandal. Newsom has reported $4.3 million in shady donations to the organization since its founding, including $1.8 million from a Native American tribe that holds a casino operating agreement with the state of California under her husband.
The New York Post reported in March that Newsom had been taking advantage of a campaign finance loophole to funnel money into his wife’s nonprofit. The loophole shielded the donations from disclosure requirements that would legally apply to a standard political action committee.
So far, no formal charges have been filed against Newsom himself by investigators. He has not been charged with any crime… yet.
To counter the probes, Newsom’s office is demanding the DOJ surrender all documents mentioning him or his wife during Trump’s second term.
At the same time, while the noose seems to tighten, Newsom is milking the probe for a political ad to help his 2028 presidential run.
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.
He isn't coming after me because of mean tweets, but because I am considering running for President.… pic.twitter.com/tVYk3WUvO8
— Gavin Newsom (@GavinNewsom) June 15, 2026