Newsom has said he and his wife were targeted because he is considering running for president in 2028. The Justice Department has not confirmed the investigation.
Published June 15, 2026
California Governor Gavin Newsom, a Democrat and President Donald Trump’s biggest critic, said he is being investigated by the U.S. Department of Justice.
In a video post to X on Monday, Newsom said the investigation was politically motivated and that he was being targeted because he is considering a run for president in 2028. Newsom said the Justice Department is also investigating his wife.
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The department has not confirmed any investigation into Newsom.
“Today, my wife and I joined Donald Trump’s hit list,” Newsom said in the post. “He’s not going after me because of some mean tweets, but because I’m considering running for president.”
Newsom added that investigators found no crime and that the couple had “nothing to hide.”
The governor said federal agents are interviewing friends and former employees “not because they found a crime, but because they are trying to find a crime.”
He said investigators are also focusing on his wife, Jennifer Siebel Newsom, who runs a nonprofit organization that promotes women’s equality.
Newsom also called President Trump “the most corrupt president in American history.” He accused the Justice Department, currently headed by Trump supporter Todd Branch, of “abusing the grand jury process” in pursuing the case against him.
oath of revenge
Trump has repeatedly vowed to prosecute his political opponents.
Since the president took office in 2025, the Justice Department has indicted or is seeking to indict New York Attorney General Letitia James and former FBI Director James Comey, who investigated the president.
The Justice Department is also investigating Sen. Adam Schiff, who led the impeachment process during Trump’s first term, and Minnesota Gov. Tim Walz, a prominent critic who ran as the Democratic vice presidential candidate in 2024.
Trump regularly berates Newsom on social media, often calling him “Newscam.”
The US president said last June that Newsom should be arrested during a standoff over immigration protests in California.
Newsom, who is term-limited as governor and will retire in January 2027, has adopted a similarly vitriolic approach online.
Most recently, he posted a montage of President Trump apparently asleep during a public event on Sunday, the president’s 80th birthday.
“80 is the new 100,” Newsom wrote.
