California is mess. We’ve known this for some time. But it appears as though a reckoning may be coming. Last week after L.A. mayoral candidate Spencer Pratt dramatically dropped from second to third place and lost his chance to compete against incumbent Mayor Karen Bass in November, U.S. attorney Bill Essayli vowed to investigate. He dropped an update on that probe on on Sunday with a local TV news outlet.
Not only is the investigation ongoing, but evidence of vote fraud has already been uncovered. Essayli wouldn’t provide additional details because he can’t. Doing so would taint the process.
Now, it seems, the Justice Department is also investigating Democratic Gov. Gavin Newsom, his wife Jennifer Siebel Newsom, and the governor’s chief of staff.
“In recent days, federal agents have knocked on the doors of family, friends, and former employees. Not because they found a crime, because they’re simply trying to find one,” Newsom said in a nearly five-minute-long video posted to X. “They’re demanding records. They’re abusing the grand jury process, digging through years and years of random documents.”
He added:
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. Donald Trump is simply the most corrupt president in American history. He’s turned the levers of government into his own personal power ministries to reward cronies and to try to jail his opponents.
“After calling for my arrest last year, Donald Trump directed his Department of Justice to investigate me. And just in the last week, I’ve learned that his campaign has reached my own home. To get me, he’s coming after my wife, Jen,” the governor continued.
“A public servant, a woman who’s 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. If they can’t intimidate me, they’ll go after the mother of our children,” Newsom added. “Donald Trump picked the wrong target. We have nothing to hide.”
More:
A source familiar with the matter told Townhall that the multiple investigations were not initiated by the Department of Justice, but instead stemmed from whistleblowers from the state of California.
NEW: A source familiar confirms with @townhallcom that there are numerous investigations ongoing into Gavin Newsom for about a year now, and they stemmed from whistleblowers in California— *not* DOJ.
Topics: his wife’s taxes and his chief of staff, according to the source. https://t.co/nNSuUPdMMC
— Cameron Arcand (@cameron_arcand) June 15, 2026
Newsom went on to complain about the investigation being ‘political,’ not substantive based on evidence (sound familiar?):
To Donald Trump, who I know is watching because he watches everything, I have a message for you. You can subpoena my records. You can investigate me. You can harass me. Put my name on every and any enemies list you have. But leave my wife and family out of your personal vendetta.
The probe is reportedly linked to a wider case involving Newsom’s former chief of staff, Dana Williamson, who pled guilty to federal charges in May 2026 regarding past campaign finances.
CNN added that sources familiar with the matter confirmed that at least one of the DOJ probes originated from a whistleblower complaint and has been underway since last year. The investigations were launched by the U.S. Attorney’s Office for the Eastern District of California in Sacramento, not by political appointees or directives from D.C.
At least one active probe is specifically examining possible tax-related crimes and financial records tied to Newsom’s wife and her non-profit organizations. He’s reportedly not being targeted.
We’ll see how this shakes out.
