Gavin Newsom is planning on running for president. This investigation by the Department of Justice has thrown quite a wrench into his plans.

Initially, the game plan was to blame President Trump for the investigation. That plan was derailed when it was revealed that the investigation began under the Biden DOJ. And the plea deal by former Newsom Chief of Staff Dana Williamson signaled that there might be a lot of dirty laundry hiding within his administration. Williamson, who pleaded guilty to conspiracy to commit bank fraud and wire fraud back in May of this year, had been under investigation since 2022.

According to court documents, between February 2022 and September 2024, Williamson conspired with Greg Campbell, 52, of Davis, Sean McCluskie, 57, of Davis, and others to steal approximately $225,000 in funds from a dormant political campaign and funnel it to McCluskie for his personal use. Collectively, they funneled the money through various business entities and disguised it as pay to McCluskie’s spouse for what was, in reality, a no-show job.

From 2021 to 2023, Williamson claimed a total of approximately $1,718,277 million in business deductions for what were actually personal and nondeductible expenditures, such as food delivery services, luxury vacations to Mexico (twice) and Santa Barbara, private jet travel, purported wages for family members, home goods, veterinary services, landscaping services, and other nondeductible personal expenses. Williamson’s false deductions resulted in a tax loss of approximately $504,523, which she agreed in her plea agreement to pay back to the IRS in full as restitution.

When questioned by FBI agents in November 2024, Williamson made false statements regarding the diversion of campaign funds, Williamson’s request to Campbell to create false and backdated contracts after she received a civil subpoena from the U.S. Attorney’s Office regarding Paycheck Protection Program loans to her business, and allegations of public corruption. These statements were designed to lead the FBI away from Williamson’s criminal activity by concealing the nature of the conduit scheme, denying the backdating of contracts, and hiding Williamson’s involvement in passing information to former clients and business partners to give them an advantage in litigation against the state.

And this woman was Newsom’s chief of staff. Even if he had no knowledge of it, the entire episode makes him look back, and Gavin knows it. Add this current investigation on top of it, and the entire Newsom house of cards could come tumbling down – which has the people around him wondering if they should have legal counsel to protect themselves.

Even as the California governor works to maximize the political advantages of being targeted by Donald Trump before a possible presidential run, the consequences of the federal probes are already rippling through his orbit. Law enforcement is looking into his wife Jennifer Siebel Newsom’s taxes and finances, according to a person familiar with the matter, and the nebulous nature of the investigations has prompted some people in Newsom’s circle to contemplate whether they’ll need lawyers in the future.

They’ve been on alert in part because federal investigators have been circling for well over a year. Sacramento was rocked last fall when an investigation that began under President Joe Biden yielded corruption charges against Newsom’s former chief of staff, who later pleaded guilty to passing sensitive information to a former associate and lying about it, among other charges. Newsom has not been implicated in that probe, and his office believes federal investigators in the Trump administration expanded the scope of their efforts after their examination of the former aide, Dana Williamson, did not ensnare the governor.

The situation feels distinct even from other investigations involving people who have faced legal fallout after feuding with the president. While Trump publicly called for the prosecution of enemies such as California Sen. Adam Schiff and former FBI Director James Comey, he has been uncharacteristically silent about any investigation into Newsom. The Department of Justice has not publicly confirmed the existence of the probes.

Information about the nature of the inquiries is sparse and at times contradictory. A person familiar with the investigations said one was into Williamson and possible current staff members, but another person said the matter regarding Williamson was closed after she pleaded guilty last month. Her attorney told POLITICO there was no indication at all that Williamson was under additional scrutiny.

Because the Department of Justice is not revealing anything, everyone in Newsom’s circle has their head on a swivel, though it does seem likely that the scrutiny rests on wife Jennifer Siebel Newsom and her nonprofit work – and how much profit she pocketed from the funds that Gavin directed to those nonprofits.

It is not clear if federal investigators are examining the behested payments, Siebel Newsom’s filmmaking work, or something else entirely. Donors to the California Partners Project and staff and board members of the Representation Project did not respond to questions about whether they’d been questioned or approached.

But the Newsom administration believes the federal government is scrutinizing every aspect of the Newsoms’ financial history. Any hint of impropriety or of the governor unduly promoting his spouse, even if it is legal, will likely be vetted by journalists and amplified by critics.

And the attention has resurfaced questions, largely raised by conservatives, about the family’s living expenses and multimillion-dollar real estate transactions. Newsom officials believe the government is also examining the family’s household expenditures.

The last tax return released by Newsom showed the couple paid household staff $288,000 in 2019, largely for childcare. The couple purchased a $9.1 million home in Marin County, an affluent suburb of San Francisco, in 2024.

While those in the Newsom orbit are thinking about legal representation, it is telling that other Democrats aren’t standing up for Gavin and Jennifer.

Well, the reports now have Newsom spooked enough that his office is now saying that he will absolutely totally completely release those tax returns that he vowed to release years ago, because transparency!

Newsom’s office said Friday it is “working to prepare” the governor’s tax returns spanning his current term in office as federal officials reportedly investigate his wife Jennifer Siebel Newsom’s finances and other individuals close to the governor.

Newsom previously pledged to release annual tax returns during his 2018 campaign for governor, calling it a “moral duty” in what was viewed as a shot at President Donald Trump, who broke tradition by declining to voluntarily release his returns.

But the one-time wine entrepreneur and now presidential aspirant stopped posting his returns after the 2022 reelection.

His last release was for the tax year 2020, which were released more than four years ago.

“The Governor and First Partner publicly disclose their income annually. They have released every tax return that had been filed while he was a candidate for statewide office, covering 2015 through his 2022 re-election,” said Newsom’s spokesperson Tara Gallegos in an email.

Notice the nice little weasel wording done in that email: “every tax return that had been filed while he was a candidate for statewide office.” Which means that Newsom was, in his mind, completely justified in NOT releasing those returns once elected and not able to seek statewide office again. Now that he has openly admitted his presidential aspirations (after years of being coy about it), it’s time to open up those tax records again! At some point. The statement does not say WHEN those tax records will be released, only that they WILL be released. Wow, that’s some commitment right there!

RedState’s Jennifer Van Laar, who has been tracking the Newsom money trail for a long time, welcomed this news (which happened to come on her birthday).

This is the best birthday present I've had… Recognition that my work pushing for his accountability hasn't gone unnoticed https://t.co/kCwfr6kKIO

— Jennifer Van Laar (@jenvanlaar) June 20, 2026

My guess is that Team Newsom will slow-walk any release of tax statements while the Department of Justice is investigating, and use that as their shield for NOT following through on releasing the records. Meanwhile, there are a ton of open questions about the Newsom finances, to the point where the comparisons to the Biden Family Business might not be all that amiss. We shall have to wait and see just how tangled the Newsom financial web really is – and who reaped the benefits, if any.

Featured image: original Victory Girls art by Darleen Click