Trump DOJ Targets California’s Anti-Trump Governor and a Prospective Democratic Presidential Candidate, Gavin Newsom
Gavin Newsom has accused Donald Trump of adding him and his wife to the presidential “hit list” of political enemies, and reporting confirms Newsom’s accusation that Trump’s DOJ is investigating him.
MS NOW has the story:
A federal prosecutor’s office based in Sacramento is investigating California Gov. Gavin Newsom’s wife for potential tax fraud and evasion, MS NOW has confirmed with two sources familiar with the probe.
The probe stems back to early 2025, and is just one of several investigations that have encircled Newsom, his office and his family, the people said. The Justice Department’s public integrity section had been investigating for months potential crimes involving the tax filings of Newsom’s wife, Jennifer Siebel Newsom, and had teamed up with the U.S. attorney’s office in the Eastern District of California, based in Sacramento, the people said.
The outspoken governor announced the probe Monday, accusing President Donald Trump of again using the agency to target his foes. “Today, my wife & I joined Donald Trump’s hit list. He has directed his Department of Justice to investigate us. … We have nothing to hide,” Newsom said on X.
Of course, we do not know for sure that Newsom and his wife have not committed any crimes. But whether the facts bear that out or not, it’s indisputable that what is driving actions like this is pure political animus. That is not how the justice system works under law-abiding administrations.
The Executive Watch is a project of the Institute for the Study of Modern Authoritarianism, and its flagship publication The UnPopulist, to track in an ongoing way the abuses of the power of the American presidency. It sorts these abuses into five categories: Personal Grift, Political Corruption, Presidential Retribution, Power Consolidation, and Policy Illegality. Click the category of interest to get an overview of all the abuses under it.
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