California Gov. Gavin Newsom announced on Monday that President Donald Trump directed the Department of Justice to investigate him and his wife, Jennifer Siebel Newsom, but multiple reports indicate the federal inquiry began during former President Joe Biden’s administration.
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In a video posted on X, the Democratic governor said federal investigators had contacted family members, friends and former employees as part of an investigation he described as politically motivated.
Today, my wife & I joined Donald Trump’s hit list. He has directed his Department of Justice to investigate us. They have not found a crime – they are simply trying to find one.
He isn’t coming after me because of mean tweets, but because I am considering running for President.… pic.twitter.com/tVYk3WUvO8
— Gavin Newsom (@GavinNewsom) June 15, 2026
“Federal agents have knocked on the doors of family, friends, and former employees, not because they found a crime, but because they’re simply trying to find one. They’re demanding records. They’re abusing the grand jury process, digging through years and years of random documents,” Newsom said.
Newsom argued that Trump was targeting him because he is considering a presidential campaign and has been a vocal critic of the president.
“Donald Trump isn’t just coming after me because of my mean tweets. He’s coming after me because I’m considering running for president, because he hates that I’ve consistently called him out over and over again for his lies and deceit,” Newsom said.
The governor also accused the Trump administration of targeting political opponents and claimed investigators had expanded their focus to include his wife.
“If they can’t intimidate me, they’ll go after the mother of our children,” Newsom said. “Donald Trump picked the wrong target. We have nothing to hide.”
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However, reports suggest the investigation predates Trump’s return to office.
Journalist Adam Housley wrote on X that the Newsoms have been under federal investigation since the Biden administration.
“Minor detail. They’ve been under federal investigation since the Biden admin. This isn’t new,” Housley wrote.
According to Housley, the investigation has multiple components, including matters connected to California’s Napa Valley. He said the inquiry was initially handled by agents from the FBI’s Sacramento field office before later being transferred to the bureau’s San Francisco office.
“The investigation has multiple arms. Some of it connected here in the Napa Valley,” Housley wrote. “It was first handled by agents from the Sacramento FBI, and I was told it was taken over by the San Francisco office.”
Separately, Semafor White House correspondent Shelby Talcott reported that a source familiar with the matter described multiple investigations involving the governor. According to Talcott, the inquiries involve Jennifer Siebel Newsom’s taxes and Newsom’s chief of staff.
“A source familiar with the situation tells me that there are ‘several investigations’ ongoing relating to Gov. Gavin Newsom — I’m told they are focused on his wife’s taxes + his chief of staff,” Talcott wrote. “They did not originate from the main DOJ, but are out of Sacramento and involve whistleblowers, per source.”
Sources cited by Fox News said the investigation involving Newsom and his wife has been underway since 2025 and is based on whistleblower complaints related to the couple’s personal finances.
The scrutiny follows previous reports concerning Jennifer Siebel Newsom’s nonprofit and business activities. A Daily Mail report cited in March alleged that Siebel Newsom received more than $3 million through her charity, The Representation Project, and her company, Girls Club LLC, over the past decade.
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