Gavin Newsom says Trump directed U.S. Justice Department to investigate him

California Governor Gavin Newsom on Monday accused U.S. President Donald Trump of directing the Justice Department to undertake a politically motivated investigation of him and his wife.

“Donald Trump isn’t just coming after me because of my mean Tweets,” Newsom said in a video statement posted to X. “He’s coming after me because I am considering running for President.”

Newsom is frequently cited as a top contender for the 2028 Democratic presidential nomination. Term-limited in his current role, Newsom has ramped up his national profile, visited early primary states and stated he would “be lying” if he said he was not considering a White House run.

The White House referred questions to the Justice Department, which declined to comment.

Newsom said federal agents had, in recent days, been knocking on the doors of family friends and former employees demanding records and digging through years-old documents.

“Not because they found a crime. Because they are simply trying to find one.”

He didn’t provide specifics on the nature of the probe, but his office said the inquiry appears to have recently expanded into “increasingly personal matters involving the Governor’s family and professional network.” 

The investigations surrounding Newsom have expanded since Todd Blanche took over as acting attorney general, the governor said. Blanche declined to answer questions about Newsom during a brief photo opportunity Monday afternoon.

Newsom, Trump have clashed

Last year, Trump said he would support Newsom being arrested over his alleged obstruction of immigration enforcement in California. In November, federal prosecutors brought charges against Newsom’s former chief of staff for acts she committed before working for Newsom. She pleaded guilty in May to conspiracy to commit bank fraud and wire fraud.

Newsom and Trump have long been critical of each other, clashing on major issues including climate change, pipelines and the Republican president’s deployment of National Guard troops to the state last summer.

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.

Since Trump returned to office for a second term, his Justice Department has targeted several of the president’s perceived political enemies with criminal prosecution, pursuing criminal charges against former FBI director James Comey, New York state Attorney General Letitia James and Trump’s former National Security Adviser John Bolton.

The department has also opened investigations ‌into U.S. officials who concluded that Russia interfered in the 2016 U.S. presidential election to boost Trump’s first campaign, Democratic lawmakers who urged U.S. military personnel to refuse unlawful orders and liberal donors and fundraising groups.

A tally by Reuters published in November 2025 revealed at least 470 people, organizations and institutions had been targeted for retribution since the beginning of Trump’s second term.