Newsom Claims He and Wife Under DOJ Investigation, on Trump ‘Hit List’ Over 2028 Run

Governor Gavin Newsom took to social media today announcing that he and his First Partner Jennifer Siebel Newsom had landed on President Donald Trump’s “hit list.” In both his X post and a public address, Newsom accused the Trump administration of directing the Department of Justice to investigate the couple simply because he is “considering running for President” in 2028 and has been a vocal critic of the president.

“They have not found a crime — they are simply trying to find one,” Newsom stated. “We have nothing to hide. Mr. President, come after me. I am not going anywhere. The country is watching.”

In his formal statement, Newsom elaborated: “In recent days, federal agents have knocked on the doors of family friends and former employees. Not because they found a crime. Because they are simply trying to find one. They are demanding records. They are abusing the grand jury process. Digging through years and years of random documents.”

Newsom continued, “Donald Trump isn’t just coming after me because of my mean tweets. He’s coming after me because I am considering running for President. Because he hates that I’ve consistently called him out – over and over again – for his lies and deceit. Donald Trump is simply the most corrupt President in American history.”

He added, “He has turned the levers of government into his own personal power ministries to reward cronies and to try to jail his opponents… One by one, anyone who has challenged Donald Trump has ended up on his hit list. And today, I proudly join that list… If they can’t intimidate me, they’ll go after the mother of our children.”

WATCH:

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

Newsom’s office confirmed that federal agents have contacted family members, friends, and former employees for records and interviews in recent days. One focus of the inquiries reportedly centers on Jennifer Siebel Newsom’s nonprofit, The Representation Project.

The California Globe has extensively documented the financial arrangements surrounding the First Partner’s nonprofit and related dealings for years, long before any current DOJ probe.

Founded by Jennifer Siebel Newsom in 2011, The Representation Project describes itself as a nonprofit combating gender stereotypes through films and advocacy. IRS filings show that over the past decade-plus, the organization has paid Siebel Newsom an annual salary of approximately $150,000 as Chief Creative Officer. Her production company, Girls Club LLC, has received another roughly $150,000 per year for licensing rights to documentaries such as Miss Representation and The Mask You Live In.

Combined, these payments to Siebel Newsom and her LLC total more than $3.7 million since the nonprofit’s inception, according to detailed IRS Form 990 reviews. In the fiscal year ending March 2024 alone, the nonprofit reported about $1.7 million in gross receipts, with executive compensation (including payments to Siebel Newsom, her LLC, and other top staff) reaching $581,942 — a figure critics have called disproportionately high for an organization of its size.

This latest DOJ development intensifies long-standing scrutiny of financial flows tied to the Newsom family, including behested payments—donations solicited by Governor Gavin Newsom to third-party organizations, often nonprofits or causes aligned with administration priorities. Such payments, while legal, must be disclosed under California’s Political Reform Act to guard against pay-to-play arrangements.

As the Globe reported last year,

Jennifer Siebel Newsom solicited state vendors and the governor’s campaign donors for large gifts to her charity, The Representation Project. Since 2011, this supposed gender-justice charity has raked in over $800,000 from corporate giants like PG&E, AT&T, and Comcast—firms with billions at stake in California’s regulatory landscape.

In August and September 2022, the Globe shared a report by Open the Books, which sued, and then had to file 442 California Public Record Act requests – one with each state agency – in order to obtain California’s line-by-line spending by state agencies. California’s Controller, Betty Yee, rejected their sunshine request for state spending, claiming she “couldn’t locate” any of the nearly 50 million bills she paid in 2019.

What Open the Books auditors found in California’s state spending was “979 state vendors who gave $10,561,828 in political donations to Gavin Newsom during his 2010, 2018, recall election, and 2022 election cycles. Meanwhile, these companies reaped $6,201,978,173 in state payments.”

That’s a $10.6 million investment for a $6.3 billion return.

The current charity revelations follow Governor Newsom’s November 2025 $13,000 fine from the Fair Political Practices Commission for failing to timely disclose more than $14.3 million in behested payments between 2019 and 2024. The FPPC classified the violation as negligent rather than willful, but watchdog groups argue the lapse underscores persistent transparency concerns.

The Globe has covered additional controversies tied to the Newsom family and administration finances:

• FireAid relief funds: Following the 2025 Los Angeles wildfires, the FireAid benefit concerts raised $100 million. Investigations revealed the money went to nonprofits rather than directly to victims. Actor Spencer Pratt publicly accused Newsom and his California Volunteers (Cal Vols) office of receiving a FireAid grant. The Globe detailed how funds were distributed to various organizations, prompting calls for federal scrutiny over transparency and use.

• State Auditor findings: A December 2025 California State Auditor report named Governor Newsom and eight agencies as “high-risk,” criticizing mismanagement of billions in federal COVID-19 funds, public safety lapses, and infrastructure neglect.

• Real estate and LLC opacity: In late 2024, Newsom purchased a $9.1 million mansion in Kentfield, Marin County, through a private LLC. By May 2025, Jennifer Siebel Newsom was listed as the manager of that LLC. The home was acquired from billionaire Hyatt Hotels heir Daniel Pritzker.

• Winery and donor ties: Newsom has long held interests in the PlumpJack winery group. Past Globe coverage connected donor networks, including Silicon Valley Bank ties to entities linked to the First Partner’s other nonprofits, such as the California Partners Project.

• CCP financial ties: Newsom has faced repeated criticism for deepening California’s engagement with the Chinese Communist Party, including a 2023 trip to China where he met President Xi Jinping, signed multiple climate and economic MOUs, and promoted subnational ties. Critics, including GOP lawmakers and reports, have highlighted campaign contributions from executives tied to CCP-linked firms (such as BYD), partnerships through the California-China Climate Institute with CCP-affiliated groups, and appointments of allies with connections to Chinese officials. These relationships have raised national security and influence concerns amid U.S.-China tensions.

President Trump has previously announced a broad fraud investigation into California, citing waste, abuse, and mismanagement under Newsom’s leadership.

Newsom, who is term-limited in 2026, has positioned himself as a leading Democratic voice nationally and a potential 2028 presidential contender. His remarks today frame the DOJ inquiries as politically motivated retaliation rather than legitimate investigations of self-dealing, donor influence, and the flow of public and private funds.

The Globe’s reporting has consistently highlighted how vendors and donors connected to the Newsom orbit have profited handsomely while the First Partner’s nonprofit extracted millions through salaries and licensing fees from an organization she controls.

Newsom maintains he and his wife “have nothing to hide.” The DOJ probe, and the years of public records already examined by the California Globe, will determine whether that claim holds up under formal investigation.