California Governor Gavin Newsom, a Democrat and fierce critic of President Donald Trump, said he is under investigation by the U.S. Department of Justice (DOJ). In a video posted on X Monday, Newsom claimed the probe is politically motivated and targets him because he is considering a 2028 presidential run. Newsom also said his wife, Jennifer Siebel Newsom, is being investigated.
“Today, my wife and I became a target of Donald Trump,” Newsom said in the post. “He’s not targeting me because of mean tweets, but because I’m considering running for president.”
Newsom added that investigators have not found any crime and that he and his wife have “nothing to hide.” He asserted that federal agents are seeking to interview his friends and former staff, “not because they have found a crime, but because they are trying to find one.”
Newsom called Trump “the most corrupt president in American history” and accused the DOJ, now led by Trump loyalist Todd Blanche, of “abusing the grand jury process” to fabricate charges against him.
Retaliation threats
Trump has repeatedly vowed to prosecute political opponents. Since taking office in 2025, the DOJ has prosecuted or sought to prosecute New York Attorney General Letitia James and former FBI Director James Comey, both of whom previously investigated the president. The DOJ is also investigating Senator Adam Schiff, who led Trump’s impeachment trials in his first term, and Minnesota Governor Tim Walz, a prominent critic and the 2024 Democratic vice-presidential nominee.
Trump regularly attacks Newsom on social media, calling him “Newscum.” In June last year, the president said Newsom should be arrested amid controversy over protests against immigration enforcement in California.
Newsom, who is term-limited as governor and will leave office in January 2027, uses a similarly aggressive approach online. Most recently, he posted a video montage of Trump dozing off at public events on the president’s 80th birthday, with the caption: “80 is the new 100.”
