SACRAMENTO, Calif., July 6 (Our California Times) — California Gov. Gavin Newsom accused President Donald Trump and the Justice Department on Monday of opening a politically motivated probe into him and his wife, but multiple reports said some federal inquiries tied to his orbit began before Trump returned to office.
In a post on X and a video statement, Newsom called the matter a “fishing expedition” and said Trump had put him and his wife on a “hit list.” He framed the investigation as retaliation rather than law enforcement.
A Justice Department source familiar with the matter said at least two criminal investigations involving Newsom’s orbit have been active in the U.S. attorney’s office for the Eastern District of California for about a year. The source said one inquiry was opened during the Biden administration.
Sources familiar with the investigations said they began in California, including Sacramento, and were prompted by whistleblower information and local complaints rather than at Justice Department headquarters in Washington. Other reporting said federal offices in Sacramento and San Francisco handled the matter, while one source said Washington leadership was involved in the decision to open the inquiries.
The reporting did not say Newsom has been charged, and the exact scope of the inquiries remains unclear. One separate case involving former Newsom chief of staff Dana Williamson ended with a guilty plea in May in a corruption case that did not implicate the governor.
The accounts also differed on whether the probes focused on Newsom himself or people connected to him, including his wife, Jennifer Siebel Newsom.
