Newsom Fined by State Campaign Finance Watchdog Just Ahead of DOJ Investigation

Last week, the California Fair Political Practices Commission fined Governor Gavin Newsom $31,500 for failing to timely report more than $5.6 million in behested payments.

Newsom solicited these “behest” payments from private sector companies, and then failed to timely report this to the FPPC, the State Campaign Finance Watchdog.

“Behested” payments are donations that Gov. Newsom solicits from donors for his chosen nonprofits, charities, or government-related purposes.

According to the FPPC, behested payments are also a California-specific mechanism under the Political Reform Act that allows elected officials (and Public Utilities Commission members) to solicit donations from individuals, companies, or organizations for charitable, legislative, or governmental purposes—without the money going directly to the official’s campaign or personal use. 

Under California law, these are not treated as campaign contributions or personal gifts to the official, according to the FPPC. Officials must report them on Form 803 if they total $5,000+ from a single source in a calendar year. There are no dollar limits on the amounts, which has drawn criticism as a potential loophole for influence.

Except some of Newsom’s behest payments did go to his campaign committees controlled by Newsom the Globe reported:

Between 2018 and 2019, UnitedHealth donated $220,000 to political committees controlled by Newsom, who later awarded $492 million in contracts to UnitedHealth subsidiaries in no-bid and expedited situations.

That’s a $220,000 investment for a $492 million return.

In 2020 alone, while Newsom had the state under his ordered lockdowns, he “behested” $226,520,000+ from various corporations that operate in California.

“California Governor Gavin Newsom helped bankroll his wife’s charity with nearly $2 million he solicited from a Native American tribe – while fighting on its behalf to kill a rival casino,” The Daily Mail reported last year (see FPPC graph below).

The Daily Mail continues:

Federated Indians of Graton Rancheria tribe donated $1.8 million to The California Partners Project, a nonprofit co-founded by Newsom’s wife Jennifer Siebel Newsom, and another $450,000 to fund his inaugurations.

Newsom and the state then joined the tribe’s efforts to block a casino from opening just 15 miles from theirs, filing a lawsuit in May challenging the federal government’s approval of the project.”

California law requires reporting donations of $5,000 and more within 30 days, as the Globe has repeatedly reported.

Newsom’s violations involved 36 late reports, for 35–36 donations, from 2024 and 2025, filed 64 – 229 days late. Many related to recovery efforts after the 2025 Los Angeles wildfires, directed largely to groups like the California Fire Foundation.

Major donors included corporations and foundations such as $500,000 from BlackRock, Apple, Amazon, Lockheed Martin, and $1 million from  the Chuck Lorre Foundation.

Newsom agreed to the settlement, the Mercury News reported. The FPPC described it as a paperwork issue with no evidence of intent to conceal the funds. The fine was $1,750 per late report, below the maximum.

This is Newsom’s second such FPPC settlement for similar behested payment reporting failures, KCRA reported in 2024. In late 2024, he paid a $13,000 fine for earlier violations involving payments from companies like Microsoft, Amazon, and T-Mobile.

This is pay-to-play politics, or legally known as “quid pro quo”, a Latin term meaning “something for something.”

Here is what the latest FPPC fine order says:

SUMMARY OF THE FACTS

Newsom was elected Governor of California in 2018 and is currently in office. The current case involves behested payments made during the 2025 Los Angeles Wildfires and were related to supporting recovery from the devastating fires. The Los Angeles Wildfires began on January 7, 2025 and were not fully contained until January 31, 2025. Newsom, as Governor, proclaimed a state of emergency on January 7, 2025 and was heavily involved in the response efforts thereafter. This matter involves 36 payments of $5,000 or more made in 2024 and 2025 by various
companies and individuals to entities at Newsom’s behest. Thirty-four of these payments were received by the California Fire Foundation, a 501(c)(3) organization which supports firefighters and fire victims, after Newsom (or his staff) directed inquiries to help after the Los Angeles Wildfires to
this organization. For each of these payments, Newsom failed to timely file a corresponding behested payment report with the Governor’s Office within 30 days and thereafter with the Fair Political Practices Commission.

However, all 36 behested payment reports were filed prior to public discovery or Enforcement Division contact. Below is a chart summarizing the late behested payment reports:

11/25/24 Institute for Local Government, Schmidt Family Foundation,$50,000

For the California Fire Foundation following the Palisades, Altadena and Malibu fires, Newsom “behested”:

• Uber $20,000
• BlackRock $500,000
• PayPal $250,000
• DoorDash $50,000
• Sony Corporation America $50,000
• Uber Eats $500,000
• Lockheed Martin $500,000
• Kaiser $100,000
• Chuck Lorre Foundation $1,000,000
• Anthem Blue Cross Foundation $500,000
• Clayco $150,000
• Target $200,000
• Orrick $19,735
• Akin Gump Strauss Hauer and Feld LLP $50,000
• KPMG US Foundation $25,000
• Apple $250,000
• Wachtell, Lipton, Rosen & Katz Foundation $100,000
• United Airlines $50,000
• John & Marcia Goldman Foundation $25,000
• Verizon $150,000
• Universal Music Group $10,000
• Annenberg Foundation $55,000
• Paramount Studios $100,000
• Sony Pictures Entertainment $7,100
• D’ Leon Consulting Engineers Corp $25,000
• Klarman Family Foundation $25,000
• United Airlines $25,000
• American Express $150,000
• Insurance Industry Charitable Foundation $47,418
• Levi Strauss & Co $ 25,000
• Next Era Energy $50,000
• Amazon $200,000
• AT&T $100,000
• Estee Lauder $225,000

Newsom failed to timely file a behested payment report for all of these “contributions” as well as many others in the report.

“This matter consists of 18 proposed counts. The maximum penalty that may be imposed is $5,000 per count. Thus, the maximum penalty that may be imposed for the count charged here is $90,000,” the FPPC says.

“Here, Newsom failed to timely report 36 behested payment reports. However, all the reports were filed prior to public discovery and Enforcement Division contact and were filed within months of the due date,” the FPPC says.

And the FPPC notes, “Newsom has served in public office since 1997… elected Governor of California in 2018. Therefore, Newsom has significant
experience with the Act.”

Yes he has – and he has been fined twice by the FPPC as Governor.

However, the FPPC claims that because “Newsom acted during an official state of emergency,” and “that all but two of the payments made were directed toward critical public assistance and essential recovery efforts following the devastating wildfires,” “Therefore, the Enforcement Division recommends 18 counts at $1,750 per count for the failure to timely file behested payment reports. The total penalty for those counts is $31,500.”

That’s a far cry from $90,000 and $5,000 for each count. Especially since there were behest payments to a hastily created charity following the Palisades fires, and most of the funds never made it to the fire survivors.

But I guess the FPPC doesn’t deal with fraud. According to several independent investigations, the $100 million raised during the FireAid benefit concerts in January 2025 has not gone to fire victims as promised, but rather half of it – $50 million – went to the Annenberg Foundation non-profit who decides where the money goes. The other half of the funds were released during the first round of grants in February 2025, with 120 non-profit organizations getting funds. Some of the beneficiaries are known, with groups like the Pasadena Humane Society receiving $250,000 to treat pets and animals harmed by the fires, the Globe reported in 2025.

Rep. Kevin Kiley (CA) posted Kiley on X: “We’ve learned that of the $100 million raised at the celebrity “Fire Aid” concert, none actually went to LA fire victims,” “Instead the money went to nonprofits, many that have nothing to do with fire relief. I’ve asked Attorney General Pam Bondi to open an investigation.”

Let’s hope that the feds are investigating this $100 million fund.

So, Gavin Newsom tried to get out ahead of this FPPC report, and then the DOJ investigation by claiming that it’s all revenge and a witch hunt by President Donald Trump and the U.S. DOJ.