California Gov. Gavin Newsom said on June 15 that he and his wife are under investigation by the Department of Justice.
Newsom said that federal agents have spoken to his family friends and former employees and that they demanded records and documents.
The California governor accused President Donald Trump of abusing the grand jury process.
“[Trump] isn’t coming after me because of mean tweets, but because I am considering running for President,” Newsom said on X. “We have nothing to hide. Mr. President, come after me. I am not going anywhere.”
Details of the alleged investigation are not immediately clear. The Justice Department declined to comment.
In a video, Newsom said federal agents are going through “years and years” of documents looking for a crime. The governor’s website describes Newsom’s wife Jennifer as “an award-winning filmmaker and an influential thought leader on gender equality.”
“One by one, anyone who has challenged Donald Trump has ended up on his hit list and today I proudly join that list,” Newsom said.
A source familiar with the matter told The Epoch Times that there were two probes into people surrounding Newsom. One investigation involves Newsom’s wife and is related to tax activities involving a nonprofit she was involved with.
Another investigation involves Newsom’s former chief of staff and other potentially current staff members, the source said on the condition of anonymity because the source wasn’t authorized to publicly discuss ongoing investigations.
These investigations, which have been conducted over the past year out of the Eastern District of California, were triggered by whistleblowers and local sources in California, the source said.
The source wasn’t aware of any investigations specifically targeting Newsom, the source said.
Trump and Newsom have sparred on social media, and in January, the president criticized Newsom’s handling of fraud in California.
On Truth Social, Trump posted about the fraud discovered in the hospice care industry and called California under Newsom “more corrupt than Minnesota, if that’s possible.”
“The Fraud Investigation of California has begun,” Trump posted.
In June 2025, Newsom dared White House border czar Tom Homan to arrest him as protests and riots persisted in Los Angeles over immigration enforcement.
Homan said he had no intention of arresting Newsom as long as he didn’t break a law.
