California Governor Gavin Newsom publicly accused President Donald Trump on Monday of ordering the Department of Justice to open a politically motivated investigation into him and his wife, Jennifer Siebel Newsom, alleging that federal agents have in recent days been knocking on the doors of family friends and former employees. In a video statement posted to X and published simultaneously on the official California Governor’s website, Newsom cast the probe as the latest deployment of what he described as a “weaponized” Justice Department against the president’s perceived political enemies — and signaled he has no intention of backing down.
“In recent days, federal agents have knocked on the doors of family friends and former employees,” Newsom said in the statement. “Not because they found a crime. Because they are simply trying to find one.”
The Allegations: Grand Jury Process, Records Demands, and a Target on His Wife
Newsom said agents have been demanding records and “digging through years and years of random documents,” and accused the administration of abusing the grand jury process to manufacture a case where none exists. The governor said he first became aware of the investigation’s scope over the past week, and that its reach had now extended to his wife — Jennifer Siebel Newsom, California’s First Partner, who has spent years publicly advocating for women and girls through nonprofit work. A separate report indicated that a U.S. Attorney’s Office investigation in Sacramento has been looking at Siebel Newsom, with the DOJ’s public integrity section examining potential tax fraud and evasion, and that Siebel Newsom had already been interviewed by investigators in a probe focused on evidence suggesting personal use of nonprofit funds. Newsom made no acknowledgment of those specific allegations in his statement, and the DOJ and White House did not immediately respond to requests for comment.
“Just in the last week, I’ve learned his campaign has reached my own home: to get me, he’s coming after my wife, Jen,” Newsom said. “A public servant. A woman who has dedicated her life to supporting women and girls. Someone who has done nothing wrong, other than having the temerity to advocate for what she believes in.”
“I Am Considering Running for President”
Newsom was explicit about why he believes he has been targeted. The governor, widely considered a leading potential candidate for the 2028 Democratic presidential nomination, said Trump’s motivations are not rooted in any legitimate law enforcement concern but in political fear. “Donald Trump isn’t just coming after me because of my mean Tweets,” he said. “He’s coming after me because I am considering running for President. Because he hates that I’ve consistently called him out — over and over again — for his lies and deceit.”
The statement marked one of Newsom’s most direct public acknowledgments of a potential presidential run, and framed the investigation itself as evidence of the threat his candidacy represents to the current administration. Newsom and Trump have clashed repeatedly over the past two years on issues ranging from immigration enforcement and National Guard deployments to California to climate policy and energy infrastructure, making their rivalry one of the most visible in American politics.
A Feud With Deep Roots — and an Arrest Threat on Record
The political tension between Newsom and Trump predates the current investigation. Trump last year endorsed the idea of arresting Newsom during clashes between the administration and California officials over immigration enforcement in Los Angeles, telling reporters, “Gavin likes the publicity, but I think it would be a great thing.” That public statement, Newsom noted Monday, now sets a direct line to the current DOJ activity. “After calling for my arrest last year, Donald Trump directed his Department of Justice to investigate me,” Newsom said.
Acting Attorney General Todd Blanche told reporters in April that it is “appropriate” for the president to direct investigations — a statement that has drawn scrutiny from legal scholars and civil liberties advocates who argue the norm of DOJ independence from White House political direction is a cornerstone of the American justice system.
Newsom Places Himself on a Growing “Hit List”
The California governor framed the investigation not as an isolated event but as part of a deliberate and escalating pattern of the Trump administration using law enforcement as a political weapon. Under Trump, the Department of Justice has pursued criminal cases against the president’s political opponents or people he believes are trying to thwart his agenda, from indictments against New York Attorney General Letitia James and former FBI Director James Comey to an investigation of Sen. Elissa Slotkin of Michigan.
“One by one, anyone who has challenged Donald Trump has ended up on his hit list,” Newsom said. “And today, I proudly join that list.” He named several of those targets by name in his statement — former FBI Director James Comey, Federal Reserve Chair Jerome Powell, New York Attorney General Letitia James, former Rep. Adam Schiff, former Vice Presidential candidate Tim Walz, and former National Security Adviser John Bolton — each of whom has faced some form of legal scrutiny or criminal pursuit under the current administration.
Former FBI Director James Comey was indicted in September 2025 on one count of making false statements to Congress and one count of obstruction of justice. A Reuters tally published in November 2025 found that at least 470 people, organizations, and institutions had been targeted for retribution since the beginning of Trump’s second term.
A Direct Message to the President
In a striking moment of the video statement, Newsom turned and spoke directly to Trump, making clear he was aware of the president’s well-documented habit of monitoring media coverage of himself. “To Donald Trump, who I know is watching because he watches everything, I have a message for you,” Newsom said. “You can subpoena my records. You can investigate me. You can harass me. Put my name on every and any enemy’s list you have, but leave my wife and family out of your personal vendetta.”
Newsom also addressed his wife directly in the statement. “These times are not normal. They are not ordinary,” he said. “I love you. I am sorry he is doing this. You have not earned a single one of the indignities that he is trying to inflict on you and our children.”
Corruption Accusations Fired Back at the White House
Newsom used the remainder of his statement to redirect corruption allegations squarely back at the president, making a sweeping case that the actual misconduct in American government is not in Sacramento but at 1600 Pennsylvania Avenue. He accused Trump of “selling the presidency” and described what he characterized as a pattern of financial self-enrichment — from foreign golf course approvals to cryptocurrency dealings, a reported $400 million private jet from a foreign government, and business ventures run by Trump’s sons in countries where the administration is simultaneously setting policy.
“His personal fortune has skyrocketed by $4 billion since making his return to office,” Newsom said. “This is the behavior of a regime, not a republic. The White House has become a marketplace. A marketplace for sneakers, coins, and watches… cologne, guitars, bibles, and phones. Influence for sale. Access for sale. And today, my family and I can personally confirm that justice is for sale.”
“Come After Me. I Am Not Going Anywhere.”
Newsom closed his statement with a direct challenge to the president, invoking the nation’s founding principles as the country prepares for the 250th anniversary of American independence. He argued that the Founders themselves warned against exactly this kind of concentrated, unaccountable executive power, and vowed to keep that warning at the forefront of his public fight against the administration.
“This country does not belong to you,” Newsom said, speaking again to Trump. “It does not belong to your cronies. We are going to fight your lawlessness — and we are going to continue to remind people of this country of your corruption.” The governor closed with a final declaration: “Mr. President, come after me. I am not going anywhere. And the country is watching.”
The DOJ and the White House have not responded to requests for comment on the investigation. Whether the probe will result in formal charges — or whether it remains, as Newsom contends, a political pressure campaign against a potential 2028 rival — remains to be seen.