Newsom says Trump directed DOJ investigation into him

California Gov. Gavin Newsom accused President Donald Trump of directing the U.S. Department of Justice to investigate him and his wife, saying federal agents have sought records and interviews from people close to the couple as he weighs a possible 2028 presidential run.

In a video statement posted Monday on X, the Democratic governor said the inquiry was politically motivated. The Justice Department has not confirmed any investigation into Newsom, and The Guardian said it had sought comment from the department.

“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 said federal agents had recently contacted members of his family, friends, former employees and associates, demanding documents and records and conducting interviews spanning years. “Not because they found a crime. Because they are simply trying to find one,” he said.

“Mr. President, come after me. I am not going anywhere,” Newsom said. “And the country is watching.”

Newsom said his wife, Jennifer Siebel Newsom, was also under scrutiny. She runs a nonprofit that promotes women’s equality. The New York Times reported, citing an unnamed source, that the administration has multiple federal investigations into the governor and one examining Siebel Newsom’s finances.

The governor said he and his wife had “nothing to hide,” while accusing the Justice Department of “abusing the grand jury process” in trying to build a case against him, according to Al Jazeera. He also called Trump “the most corrupt president in American history.”

“You can subpoena my records. You can investigate me. You can harass me,” Newsom said. “Put my name on every and any enemy’s list you have, but leave my wife and family out of your personal vendetta.”

In his statement, Newsom referred to other Trump critics and political rivals who have faced Justice Department scrutiny, including former FBI Director James Comey, New York Attorney General Letitia James, Sen. Adam Schiff and Minnesota Gov. Tim Walz. “One by one, anyone who has challenged Donald Trump has ended up on his hit list. And today, I proudly join that list,” he said.

Trump has repeatedly vowed to prosecute political opponents, Al Jazeera reported. Since he returned to office in 2025, the Justice Department has indicted or sought to indict James and Comey, both of whom investigated Trump. It has also investigated Schiff, who led impeachment proceedings against Trump during his first term, and Walz, a prominent Trump critic who was the Democratic vice presidential nominee in 2024.

Trump and Newsom have long clashed publicly, including over climate policy, pipelines and Trump’s deployment of National Guard troops to Los Angeles last summer. The president has regularly attacked Newsom on social media, often calling him “Newscum.” Newsom has responded in kind online, including by posting a montage Sunday, Trump’s 80th birthday, showing the president apparently sleeping during public events. “80 is the new 100,” Newsom wrote.

Last year, Trump said he would support Newsom being arrested over alleged obstruction of immigration enforcement in California, saying it would be a “great thing” if his border czar Tom Homan arrested the governor. Newsom responded at the time that calling for the arrest of a sitting governor was an “unmistakable step toward authoritarianism.”

Newsom is term-limited as governor and leaves office in January 2027. He has also led a push to counter a Trump-backed effort in Texas and other Republican-led states to redraw congressional maps to favor Republicans by championing a successful California redistricting measure designed to win Democrats five additional House seats.