California Gov. Gavin Newsom said on Monday that he and first partner Jennifer Siebel Newsom are under investigation by the U.S. Department of Justice under the direction of President Donald Trump.
“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 said in a nearly five-minute video message on social media. “They’re demanding records. They’re abusing the grand jury process, digging through years and years of random documents.”
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Gov. Gavin Newsom says he and his wife are under investigation by U.S. Department of Justice at the direction of President Donald Trump.
Federal agents this month contacted friends, family, former employees and associates looking for records and trying to do interviews. https://t.co/azvibImDnq
Federal agents have spent months searching for allegations against the governor and his wife, according to his office.
Newsom said he and his family weren’t just being targeted because of his “mean tweets,” but, “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,” Newsom said. “Donald Trump is simply the most corrupt president in American history. He’s turned the levers of government into his own personal power ministries to reward cronies and to try to jail his opponents. His personal attorney now runs the Department of Justice, which has repeatedly gone after his political enemies.”
Newsom cited previous instances of Trump’s opponents coming under investigation, such as former Federal Reserve Chairman Jerome Powell, former FBI Director James Comey, New York Attorney General Letitia James, U.S. 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,” Newsom said. “After calling for my arrest last year, Donald Trump directed his Department of Justice to investigate me, and just in the last week, I’ve learned that his campaign has reached my own home. To get me, he’s coming after my wife Jen, a public servant, a woman who has dedicated her life to supporting women and girls. Someone who has done nothing wrong.”
He said he has nothing to hide, and accused Trump of “selling the presidency.”
In a message to the president, Newsom said: “You can subpoena my records. You can investigate me. You can harass me. Put my name on every and any enemies you have. But leave my wife and family out of your personal vendetta.”
KCRA 3 has reached out to the U.S. Department of Justice for comment.
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