California Governor Newsom claims: ‘Investigations ordered by Trump are being carried out against me’
Vague allegations and pre-arranged federal investigations: the Democratic leader takes on the White House: ‘He’s attacking me because I might stand for president’
“Federal agents have been knocking on the doors of family members, friends and former employees,” claimed Gavin Newsom, the Governor of California. Newsom, a rising Democratic leader, accused Donald Trump of exploiting the Department of Justice to persecute political enemies: “Donald Trump,” he said, “is attacking me because I am considering running for president, and to get at me, he is also attacking my wife.”
The details of the investigation have not yet been clarified, but an anonymous source – quoted by the New York Times – has confirmed the existence of several federal investigations relating to the governor, including one into the finances of his wife, Jennifer Siebel Newsom. California’s first lady is a documentary filmmaker who focuses on the social impact of sexism. Representation Project, the non-profit organisation for gender equality which she founded, develops educational materials based on her documentaries. She has also set up Girls Club Entertainment, a film production company to which Representation Project makes annual payments for film productions.
Siebel Newsom is also co-founder of the California Partners Project, a non-profit organisation dedicated to gender equality and children’s wellbeing. The organisation has received donations from groups that work with the State of California, and Gavin Newsom has raised over four million dollars in donations for the organisation since 2020. There has been talk of a possible conflict of interest, but so far no evidence of wrongdoing has emerged and it is unclear exactly what the allegations against the Newsoms are.
The Democratic opposition suspects that, as in other cases, the Justice Department’s action was ordered by the White House to target the president’s enemies. And Newsom has repeatedly attacked Trump in recent months on a range of key issues: from climate change to the deployment of the National Guard in California.
Last month, Newsom’s former chief of staff, Dana Williamson, pleaded guilty to three serious offences in a corruption investigation into the Californian administration. The governor’s office has characterised the current investigation as a fresh attempt to discredit Newsom after the previous inquiry found no evidence of wrongdoing on his part.
