By SOPHIE AUSTIN and ALANNA DURKIN RICHER Associated Press
SACRAMENTO, Calif (AP) — Democratic California Gov. Gavin Newsom said Monday that the Justice Department is investigating him and his wife, accusing the Trump administration of targeting him for political purposes as he weighs a presidential bid.
Newsom, a longtime political rival of the Republican president, 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.”
The full details of any investigations related to Newsom were not immediately clear.
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.
“One by one, anyone who has challenged Donald Trump has ended up on his hit list, and today I proudly join that list,” Newsom said in the video.
The president has repeatedly gone after the Democrat-dominated state during his second term including by curbing a signature plan to reduce planet-warning emissions from cars, withholding aid for wildfire recovery and suing over state policies supporting transgender student-athletes. The state has pushed back by suing the federal government dozens of times.
Newsom also led a push to counteract a Trump-backed effort in Texas to redraw congressional districts to favor Republicans by championing a successful redistricting measure in California designed to win Democrats five additional House seats.