SACRAMENTO, Calif., July 6 (Our California Times) — California Gov. Gavin Newsom accused President Donald Trump of ordering the Justice Department to investigate him and his wife, Jennifer Siebel Newsom, but Justice Department sources and other reports said at least part of the federal scrutiny began before Trump returned to office.
Newsom called the inquiry a “fishing expedition” and said he and his spouse were on a “hit list” in a social media post and video statement. He has said Trump is using the Justice Department for political retaliation.
A Justice Department source familiar with the matter said at least two criminal investigations tied to 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 they stemmed from whistleblowers and local complaints in Sacramento, not from Justice Department headquarters in Washington.
Another Justice Department source familiar with the investigation said one inquiry involving former Newsom chief of staff Dana Williamson opened during the Biden administration. Williamson pleaded guilty in May in a separate corruption case that did not implicate Newsom.
The reporting did not lay out the full scope of the inquiries or say whether Newsom himself is a formal target.
