What Gavin Newsom Won’t Tell You About the DOJ's Investigation Into Him

Gavin Newsom (D-Calif.) wants you to believe he’s the victim of a weaponized Justice Department, but he’s not.

“Federal agents have knocked on the doors of family, friends, and former employees,” Newsom said during a press conference on Monday. “Not because they found a crime, because they’re simply trying to find one.” From there, he went all in, claiming the investigation has nothing to do with his record and everything to do with his ambitions. “Donald Trump isn’t just coming after me because of my mean tweets,” Newsom said. “He’s coming after me because I’m considering running for president.”

Newsom didn’t stop at persecution. He accused President Trump of being the “most corrupt president in American history,” and of running the country like a personal racket. Then came the line he clearly wanted clipped and shared everywhere: “My family and I can personally confirm that justice is for sale to Donald Trump.” He closed out with a dare, “Come after me. I’m not going anywhere. And the country is watching.”

It’s quite a performance. There’s just one problem: the timeline.

Newsom wants you to believe Trump cooked up this investigation out of personal spite after Newsom started flirting with a presidential run. Special missions envoy Richard Grenell shot that story down fast. “The investigation of Gavin’s political money started in 2022,” Grenell explained on X. That’s not under Trump. That’s under Joe Biden’s Justice Department, three years before Trump ever returned to office. Newsom wants you furious at Trump for a probe his own party’s administration opened first.

There’s also a name Newsom conveniently left out of his sob story: Dana Williamson. Newsom’s former chief of staff, who also advised Democrat gubernatorial hopeful Xavier Becerra, pleaded guilty in May to corruption-related charges. According to an unnamed source cited by Semafor’s Shelby Talcott, that guilty plea is a key reason federal investigators in Sacramento are circling Newsom now, while Jennifer Siebel Newsom faces separate scrutiny over possible tax crimes.

Make no mistake about it, this investigation is overdue, not manufactured for partisan purposes. Newsom and his wife have built a record stacked with corrupt staffers, sketchy nonprofits, ignored immigration law, and taxpayer money flowing into questionable places. The only thing Newsom got right in his video is that someone’s finally paying attention. He just left out the part about it starting on Biden’s watch.

Newsom isn’t merely trying to weather a federal investigation. He’s turning it into the opening act of his 2028 presidential campaign. Every dramatic clash with Trump, every breathless accusation, and every carefully staged “come after me” moment serves the same purpose: convincing Democrat primary voters that he’s the one Republican voters fear most.

But amid all the political theater, one question remains conspicuously unanswered: Why did the Biden administration launch the investigation in the first place? And he’s hoping no one asks (or answers) that question.