California’s Democratic governor, Gavin Newsom, accused the United States Department of Justice (DoJ) on Monday of opening a politically motivated investigation against him and his wife, saying the Trump administration was targeting him as he considers a run for president.
Newsom, the Republican president’s longtime political rival, said in a video posted on X that federal agents knocked on the doors of his friends and former employees and requested documents. He did not elaborate on the nature of the investigation, but his office said the investigation apparently has recently expanded into “increasingly personal issues involving the governor’s family and professional network.”
“Donald Trump is not coming after me just because of my mean tweets,” Newsom said, referring to his use of social media to mock Trump. “He’s coming after me because I’m considering running for president, because he hates that I’ve repeatedly confronted him for his lies and deceit.”
The full details of the DoJ investigations related to Newsom are not yet clear. But the revelations are likely to fuel accusations from critics that the Trump administration is using the law enforcement agency as a weapon to persecute political opponents.
A person familiar with the matter denied the existence of an investigation specifically targeting the governor, but said there are multiple federal probes involving people around him, including one related to Newsom’s wife’s taxes.
Another investigation involves Newsom’s former chief of staff, Dana Williamson, who was indicted on federal charges of participating in a scheme to embezzle campaign money from former federal Health Secretary Xavier Becerra. Newsom has not been accused of wrongdoing in connection with Williamson’s case.
