SACRAMENTO, Calif — California Gov. Gavin Newsom, a Democrat and longtime political rival of Republican President Donald Trump, said Monday the president had ordered the Justice Department to investigate him and his wife.
The nature of the alleged investigation was not immediately clear. Newsom, said in a video posted on X that federal agents in recent days have knocked on the doors of his friends and former employees, and have asked for records “not because they found a crime, but because they’re simply trying to find one.”
“Donald Trump isn’t just coming after me because of my mean tweets,” Newsom said, referencing his use of social media to mock Trump. “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.”
He called the president “corrupt” and said the alleged investigation is another example of the president abusing the justice system to prosecute his political opponents, referencing indictments against former FBI Director James Comey.
A person familiar with the matter confirmed that there are multiple federal investigations into people around Newsom, including one related to his wife’s taxes. The probes began last year after whistleblower complaints in California government, and political leadership in Washington was not involved in the decision to open them, said the person, who spoke on the condition of anonymity because they were not authorized to publicly discuss ongoing investigations.
They are the latest known Justice Department investigations related to one of Trump’s foes, a trend that has sparked criticism that the administration is using the law enforcement agency as a political weapon.
The Justice Department has also opened investigations into or brought prosecutions against former FBI Director James Comey, New York Attorney General Letitia James, former CIA director John Brennan and former Federal Reserve Chair Jerome Powell, among other perceived political enemies of the president.
Please read our comment policy before commenting.