California Gov. Gavin Newsom said he is the latest to join the Trump Administration’s “hit list” for Justice Department investigations.
Newsom, a Democrat and a prominent Trump critic, said in a video shared on social media on Monday that the DOJ at President Donald Trump’s direction is pursuing investigations into his inner circle, including his wife. Newsom alleged that the investigations are politically motivated and an apparent attempt to discredit the Governor’s presidential ambitions.
“Donald Trump isn’t just coming after me because of my mean tweets,” Newsom said. “He’s coming after me because I am considering running for President.”
Newsom, who cannot run for his current office again due to term limits, has said that he is weighing running for President in 2028. Newsom emerged as a potential contender for the 2028 Democratic nomination after a number of high-profile feuds with Trump and other Republican leaders.
Newsom’s office said that federal agents had approached people connected to him and his wife Jennifer Siebel Newsom, including family friends, former employees, and organizations. The Governor’s office announced on Monday that it filed a public records request to the DOJ seeking documents that mention Newsom or his wife during Trump’s second term, including messages to and from Justice Department leaders.
Newsom said that the DOJ is requesting records and conducting interviews not because they have found a crime but because they are “trying to find one.”
The Justice Department has not made public any details of the possible inquiries. Sources told multiple news outlets that there have been no formal investigations opened into Newsom yet. Instead, there are several federal probes into people in Newsom’s circle, including one related to his wife’s finances and taxes and another into his former chief of staff, the sources said to other outlets.
Acting Attorney General Todd Blanche did not comment on Newsom’s
