California Gov. Gavin Newsom said he is the latest to join the Trump Administration’s “hit list” for Justice Department investigations.
Newsom, a Democrat and a prominent Trump critic, said in a video shared on social media on Monday that the DOJ at President Donald Trump’s direction is pursuing investigations into his inner circle, including his wife. Newsom alleged that the investigations are politically motivated and an apparent attempt to discredit the Governor’s presidential ambitions.
“Donald Trump isn’t just coming after me because of my mean tweets,” Newsom said. “He’s coming after me because I am considering running for President.”
Newsom, who cannot run for his current office again due to term limits, has said that he is weighing running for President in 2028. Newsom emerged as a potential contender for the 2028 Democratic nomination after a number of high-profile feuds with Trump and other Republican leaders.
Newsom’s office said that federal agents had approached people connected to him and his wife Jennifer Siebel Newsom, including family friends, former employees, and organizations. The Governor’s office announced on Monday that it filed a public records request to the DOJ seeking documents that mention Newsom or his wife during Trump’s second term, including messages to and from Justice Department leaders.
Newsom said that the DOJ is requesting records and conducting interviews not because they have found a crime but because they are “trying to find one.”
The Justice Department has not made public any details of the possible inquiries. Sources told multiple news outlets that there have been no formal investigations opened into Newsom yet. Instead, there are several federal probes into people in Newsom’s circle, including one related to his wife’s finances and taxes and another into his former chief of staff, the sources said to other outlets.
Acting Attorney General Todd Blanche did not comment on Newsom’s claims when asked before a scheduled meeting with Senate Judiciary Committee Chairman Chuck Grassley (R, Iowa) on Capitol Hill on Monday. TIME has reached out to the Justice Department for comment.
Here’s what to know.
Multiple probes into Newsom’s circle
There is a federal probe into Newsom’s wife, a source familiar with the investigations told Politico. The investigation originated last year in California’s eastern district based on a tip from a whistleblower, the source said. A source told the Associated Press that Washington was not involved in the decision to open the probe.
The probe reportedly centers on a gender equity advocacy organization called the California Partners Project that Siebel Newsom co-founded. The organization received just over $5 million in behested payments since 2020, which describes payments to a third party, like a charity, at the request of a public official.
Under California law, there is generally no cap on how large behested payments can be. There are rules around the payments, including mandated public disclosure of any donation above $5,000 from a single source in a year. Behested payments are also still subject to gift and conflict-of-interest rules, and additional disclosure rules if the public official has a relationship with the recipient organization.
Siebel Newsom said in a statement to media outlets, “There are clearly no boundaries to what Donald Trump will do to get his way or to challenge those who get in his way.”
A second probe reportedly relates to an investigation into Newsom’s former chief of staff, Dana Williamson, that had been opened during the Biden Administration. Williamson was indicted last year on federal charges that she was involved in a scheme to steal $225,000 from a dormant campaign account belonging to former U.S. Health Secretary Xavier Becerra, who is now the Democratic nominee to succeed Newsom as California governor. Williamson pleaded guilty in May to conspiracy to commit bank and wire fraud, filing a false tax return, and making false statements to federal investigators.
The investigation into Williamson has since widened to include additional probes into other staff, a source told the Associated Press.
According to Politico, the Governor’s office said on Monday that the White House recently expanded an initial federal investigation into a $54 million settlement that California reached with video game company Activision Blizzard in December 2023 over allegations related to workplace discrimination. It is not clear what exactly the focus of the investigation is. Newsom’s office said that it had cooperated with the initial federal investigation, which has not led to charges, according to Politico.
Activision Blizzard had previously been a client of Williamson’s consulting business prior to her joining the Governor’s office. Williamson said in her plea agreement that she had given confidential information about state litigation to her former partner, which appears to line up with the lawsuit against Activision Blizzard. Earlier this year, Newsom’s office received DOJ inquiries about the Governor’s termination of a lawyer involved in the lawsuit in 2022. Communication from federal officials ceased after the Governor’s office responded, it told the New York Times.
The Internal Revenue Service has joined the Federal Bureau of Investigation in the investigations, Politico reported, citing Newsom’s office.
DOJ pursued Trump’s foes
Newsom is the latest of Trump’s critics to allegedly face scrutiny from the DOJ after Trump publicly called for his adversaries to be investigated.
During Trump’s second term, the department launched a criminal investigation into former Fed Chair Jerome Powell and initiated a probe into Sen. Adam Schiff (D, Calif.). Neither investigation has yielded formal charges so far. The department also indicted New York Attorney General Letitia James, but the indictment was thrown out in November. And after an earlier indictment of former F.B.I. Director James Comey was thrown out in November, the DOJ indicted him a second time in April over a 2025 social media post that allegedly threatened Trump. His trial is scheduled to begin on July 15.
Trump and Newsom have clashed over the President’s targeting of California during his second term. The Trump Administration has withheld wildfire recovery aid, moved to block the state’s plan to phase out emissions from cars, and sent federal immigration agents and the National Guard into the state to crack down on protests against immigration raids. The Administration also sued California last year over state policies that protect trans student-athletes.
California has sued the federal government dozens of times during Trump’s second term over the Administration’s immigration and environmental policies. Newsom has also led an effort to redistrict states ahead of the midterm elections, countering a Trump-backed redistricting push in Texas. Newsom led a successful ballot measure that redrew California’s congressional districts, a move projected to win Democrats an additional five House seats.
Trump has also publicly called for Newsom to be arrested. After the California Governor had resisted and criticized the Trump Administration’s sweeping immigration crackdown in Los Angeles, Trump said that it would be a “great thing” if border czar Tom Homan arrested Newsom. He said Newsom’s “primary crime is running for Governor because he’s done such a bad job.”
Newsom has repeatedly accused Trump of authoritarianism, and on Monday accused Trump of being “the most corrupt President in American history.”
“One by one, anyone who has challenged Donald Trump has ended up on his hit list, and today I proudly join that list,” Newsom said. “Mr. President, come after me. I am not going anywhere,” he added. “And the country is watching.”
The post Gavin Newsom Says Trump DOJ Is Politically Targeting Him appeared first on TIME.
