Donald Trump Directed DOJ To Investigate Gavin Newsom And Jennifer Siebel Newsom

California Gov. Gavin Newsom said Monday that President Donald Trump directed the U.S. Department of Justice to investigate him and his wife, Jennifer Siebel Newsom, as Newsom weighed a run for president.

In a video posted on X, Newsom said federal agents have “knocked on the doors of family friends and former employees,” adding that investigators were “simply trying to find one.”

ABC News

Newsom accused the Justice Department of “abusing the grand jury process” and said the probe was meant to intimidate him as he considers running for president.

The Hill reported that Newsom said federal agents interviewed his family, friends and former employees and requested records from his office, while the White House referred the request for comment to the DOJ, which did not immediately respond.

NBC News reported that Newsom said agents “have knocked on the doors on family friends and former employees” and that the investigators were “trying to find one,” while the DOJ declined to comment.

Newsom said he joined Trump’s “hit list,” and he argued that “Donald Trump isn’t just coming after me because of my mean tweets” but because he is “considering running for president.”

The California State Portal published Newsom’s remarks in which he said, “You can subpoena my records. You can investigate me. You can harass me,” while urging that Trump “leave my wife and family out of your personal vendetta.”

Al Jazeera

CNBC reported that Newsom said Trump ordered the DOJ to investigate him and his wife, and it cited MS NOW’s reporting that an investigation by the U.S. Attorney’s Office in Sacramento is largely focused on Siebel Newsom’s tax filings.

BBC reported that a source familiar with the matter confirmed “several investigations ongoing” for “roughly a year,” and said the investigations originated in California and were handled by federal prosecutors in Sacramento.

CNN reported that the Justice Department is also investigating Minnesota Gov. Tim Walz and Minneapolis Mayor Jacob Frey, with grand jury subpoenas issued, and Walz accused the federal government of “weaponizing the justice system and threatening political opponents.”

Newsom’s allegations place his wife’s taxes and his former chief of staff Dana Williamson’s case at the center of the dispute, with multiple outlets describing investigations tied to those areas.

CalMatters reported that there have been at least two criminal investigations into Newsom ongoing for a year in the Eastern District of California, originating from whistleblowers and people in Sacramento, including one into Jennifer Siebel Newsom’s taxes and another into Newsom’s former chief of staff Dana Williamson.

CalMatters also said Williamson pleaded guilty in May in a corruption scandal that has not implicated the governor, and it described Newsom’s office characterizing the investigative activity as an unfounded attack after investigators hit a dead end with the Williamson investigation.

Politico reported that Newsom’s office said federal agents reached out to more than a dozen people and entities connected to him and First Partner Jennifer Siebel Newsom, issuing subpoenas for documents and conducting interviews that spanned years, while the governor and his wife had not yet received subpoenas.

In parallel, CNN described the Justice Department’s Minnesota probe as an escalation of rhetoric threatening possible criminal consequences, and it quoted Frey saying the investigation is “an obvious attempt to intimidate me for standing up for Minneapolis.”