Newsman: Gov. Gavin Newsom said on Monday that the U.S. Department of Justice is investigating him and his wife, first partner Jennifer Siebel Newsom, in retaliation for his opposition to President Donald Trump.
“In recent days, federal agents have knocked on the doors of family, friends and former employees,” Newsom said. “Not because they found a crime. Because they are simply trying to find one.”
The activity, which Newsom’s office said has intensified recently, would mark an escalation in the ongoing feud between the governor and the Trump administration.
Newsom has assumed the role of a leading foil to Trump during the president’s second term — through lawsuits, provocative social media posts and a voter-approved redistricting campaign, Proposition 50, framed as a rebuttal to Trump’s own gerrymandering efforts.
“Donald Trump isn’t just coming after me because of my mean tweets. He’s coming after me because I am considering running for president,” Newsom said. “Because he hates that I’ve consistently called him out — over and over again — for his lies and deceit.”
“Put my name on every and any enemies list you have, but leave my wife and family out of your personal vendetta,” Newsom said.
The governor’s office said federal agents are also looking into income earned by Siebel Newsom, a documentary filmmaker.
“This is not presidential behavior, and the Governor and I will continue to speak truth to power because the American people deserve so much more,” Siebel Newsom said in a statement.
The governor’s office said federal agents have interviewed friends, donors and business associates of the governor and first partner.
Last month, Newsom’s former chief of staff, Dana Williamson, pleaded guilty to multiple charges in a wide-ranging corruption case that targeted Williamson’s tax returns and her theft from the campaign account of former Attorney General Xavier Becerra. Prosecutors said in one instance, Williamson lied to federal agents about using her position in the Newsom administration to help a former client, the video game company Activision Blizzard.
Williamson’s lawyer said federal prosecutors asked her for information on Newsom, but she had none to provide. Newsom was not accused of any wrongdoing.
