California Gov. Gavin Newsom is turning a federal investigation into a political dare, challenging President Donald Trump to “go after” him as Justice Department probes involving the governor and his wife threaten to shadow his possible 2028 ambitions.
Newsom delivered the challenge in Chicago, where he and Jennifer Siebel Newsom were attending the opening of Barack Obama’s presidential library.
“This is stuff that happens in other countries, that’s all I’ll say,” Newsom told MS NOW reporter Jacob Soboroff. “He wants to go after me? Go after me.”
The public dare followed Newsom’s claim earlier in the week that federal investigators had turned their attention to both him and California’s first lady.
Newsom claimed the inquiry had reached into his personal and political circle, from relatives to former aides.
“In recent days, federal agents have knocked on the doors of family, friends, and former employees. Not because they found a crime, because they’re simply trying to find one,” Newsom wrote.
The governor accused Trump of using the Justice Department to punish political enemies and suggested the probes were tied to his own possible presidential plans.
“He isn’t coming after me because of mean tweets, but because I am considering running for President,” Newsom posted.
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“He hates that I consistently call him out. He is simply the most corrupt President in American history. We have nothing to hide.”
A person familiar with the matter pushed back, saying whistleblower reports sent to DOJ officials in Sacramento, not Trump, prompted the probe.
The same source said the first lady-related inquiry concerns taxes, while the governor-side concerns center on present and former staff.
Siebel Newsom had already faced questions over a Daily Mail report alleging that more than $3 million connected to The Representation Project flowed to her and Girls Club LLC over roughly 10 years.
Today, my wife & I joined Donald Trump’s hit list. He has directed his Department of Justice to investigate us. They have not found a crime – they are simply trying to find one.
He isn't coming after me because of mean tweets, but because I am considering running for President.… pic.twitter.com/tVYk3WUvO8
— Gavin Newsom (@GavinNewsom) June 15, 2026
The Sacramento Bee had also raised conflict-of-interest questions tied to one of her nonprofits, including a jump in donations around the start of Newsom’s gubernatorial campaign.
Filings show The Representation Project sent more than $1.5 million to Siebel Newsom’s for-profit production company between 2015 and early 2025.
She also drew roughly $150,000 to $160,000 annually from the nonprofit, which reported $1.2 million in revenue for the year ending March 31, 2025.
The governor-side scrutiny appears linked to Dana Williamson, a former Newsom chief of staff who pleaded guilty in May in a campaign-finance and tax case.
Prosecutors said Williamson, McCluskie and a Sacramento lobbyist were involved in a scheme to route $225,000 from Becerra’s state campaign account to McCluskie.
McCluskie also accepted a plea deal. Williamson’s attorney said she “never had any direct communication with Xavier Becerra about this,” while Becerra’s campaign has said he did not know about the scheme.
Newsom has treated the probes less as a reason to retreat than as another front in his feud with Trump.
“One-by-one, anyone who has challenged Donald Trump has ended up on his hit list, and today, I proudly join that list,” Newsom wrote.
He also accused Trump of targeting his wife because he could not intimidate him directly.
“If they can’t intimidate me, they’ll go after the mother of our children,” Newsom added. “Donald Trump picked the wrong target. We have nothing to hide.”
Newsom described Siebel Newsom as a “public servant” and “a woman who’s dedicated her life to supporting women and girls.”
The governor’s legal team has already demanded more information.
Earlier this week, Newsom’s top lawyer asked acting Attorney General Todd Blanche to turn over DOJ records tied to the probe.
The Justice Department has declined to comment on that request.
His office also filed a public-records request for DOJ materials concerning the couple since Trump returned to office.
ABC News reported that Newsom’s office believes financial institutions have received grand jury subpoenas.
At the Obama library event, Siebel Newsom sidestepped the investigation questions and kept her comments on the occasion.
“I’m just so grateful for this inspiration and leadership,” Siebel Newsom said. “We need more of that.”
Newsom also used the setting to draw a contrast between Obama’s legacy event and the current political climate.
“I think everybody feels that spirit and that pride that we’ve been missing,” Newsom said. “We’ve been missing it because of the divisiveness. We’ve been missing it because we have people that, frankly, are unworthy of their positions.”
The investigations have already caught the attention of Democrats watching the next presidential cycle.
Some Democrats are already worried the probes could stain Newsom before he even enters a 2028 primary.
“There’s not one candidate who wants to enter what will inevitably be a brutal primary campaign cycle with that chain around their necks,” one Democratic strategist told The Hill.
Kamala Harris and Illinois Gov. JB Pritzker both moved to frame the investigations as political retaliation.
Speaking at a summit in Austria, Harris said Trump had already told the public how he would treat opponents.
“He told us most of what we knew would happen, including that he would go after his political enemies using the Department of Justice,” Harris said.
Pritzker called the investigations “a dangerous escalation.”
“The president frequently calls for the jailing of his perceived enemies but his playbook of weaponizing the Department of Justice as a personal attack dog is another level of corruption. This must stop.”
