California Gov. Gavin Newsom (D) claimed Monday that President Donald Trump directed the Department of Justice (DOJ) to investigate him and his wife, Jennifer Siebel Newsom, but multiple reporters say the federal probe predates Trump’s return to office.
In a video posted on X, the Democrat governor said federal investigators have contacted individuals connected to his family, including former staff members and longtime acquaintances. Newsom argued that investigators were searching for evidence of wrongdoing rather than pursuing an established case.
“Federal agents have knocked on the doors of family, friends, and former employees, not because they found a crime, but because they’re simply trying to find one. They’re demanding records. They’re abusing the grand jury process, digging through years and years of random documents,” Newsom said. “Donald Trump isn’t just coming after me because of my mean tweets. He’s coming after me because I’m considering running for president, because he hates that I’ve consistently called him out over and over again for his lies and deceit.”
Despite Newsom’s claims, award-winning journalist Adam Housley said the investigation began during former President Joe Biden’s administration.
“Minor detail. They’ve been under federal investigation since the Biden admin. This isn’t new,” Housley wrote on X.
Housley said the investigation consists of multiple components and has connections to California’s Napa Valley. According to Housley, the matter was initially handled by agents from the FBI’s Sacramento field office before being transferred to the bureau’s San Francisco office.
“The investigation has multiple arms. Some of it connected here in the Napa Valley,” Housley wrote. “It was first handled by agents from the Sacramento FBI, and I was told it was taken over by the San Francisco office.”
President Joe Biden, center, smiles to the crowd as he is flanked by California Gov. Gavin Newsom, and wife, Jennifer Siebel Newsom, at a rally ahead of the California gubernatorial recall election Monday, September 13, 2021, in Long Beach, Calif. (AP Photo/Jae C. Hong)
Separately, Shelby Talcott, a White House Correspondent for Semafor, reported that a source familiar with the matter described “several investigations” involving Newsom. According to Talcott, the inquiries are focused on Jennifer Siebel Newsom’s taxes and Newsom’s chief of staff. She further reported that the investigations originated in Sacramento and involve whistleblowers.
“A source familiar with the situation tells me that there are ‘several investigations’ ongoing relating to Gov. Gavin Newsom — I’m told they are focused on his wife’s taxes + his chief of staff,” Talcott wrote. “They did not originate from the main DOJ, but are out of Sacramento and involve whistleblowers, per source.”
In March, it was reported that Newsom had helped funnel more than $4.4 million in donations from organizations and prominent individuals into the California Partners Project, a nonprofit founded by Jennifer Seibel Newsom in 2020. The report alleged that the contributions were facilitated through a legal but controversial fundraising arrangement that can be described as a loophole.
