California Gov. Gavin Newsom may have just delivered one of the most unusual pre-campaign political messages in recent memory.
In a five-minute video released Monday, Newsom announced that he is under investigation by the U.S. Department of Justice and suggested the probe is politically motivated because he is considering a run for president. Rather than focusing on policy, accomplishments, or future plans, the video centers almost entirely on allegations that federal authorities are targeting him, his family, and people connected to him.
Newsom did not specify exactly what conduct is being investigated. Instead, he described what he characterized as an aggressive effort by federal authorities to gather information through interviews and grand jury activity.
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
“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. “They're demanding records. They're abusing the grand jury process.”
He went further, claiming that President Donald Trump’s administration is using the Justice Department against political opponents. According to Newsom, investigators have expanded their focus to include his wife, Jennifer Siebel Newsom.
“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,” Newsom said. “To get me, he's coming after my wife, Jen.”
Maybe they're investigating you because your finances don't add up? Or because your wife's LLC received the deed to a $9.1 million home a week before the LLC was even created - while you still had your Fair Oaks home? How was that LLC capitalized? https://t.co/8GNvkFHnus pic.twitter.com/SIIN1tinv1
— Jennifer Van Laar (@jenvanlaar) June 15, 2026
Newsom also claimed he has joined a list of figures he says are on Trump’s political “hit list,” including Minnesota Gov. Tim Walz, Sen. Adam Schiff, former FBI Director James Comey, and Federal Reserve Chairman Jerome Powell.
At the same time, reports indicate there may be more to the story than Newsom revealed in his video. According to reporting cited by Townhall and RedState, multiple investigations are reportedly underway, and they allegedly originated in California following whistleblower complaints rather than in Washington. The reports claim the inquiries involve Jennifer Siebel Newsom’s finances and Newsom’s former chief of staff, Dana Williamson.
Home is in the name of an LLC his wife and her parents are members of; her parents had to personally guarantee the mortgage as well - which has a primary residence clause. As does the Fair Oaks home that Jennifer Newsom's name is on pic.twitter.com/wSiHVgeyPT
— Jennifer Van Laar (@jenvanlaar) June 15, 2026
Questions surrounding the Newsoms’ finances have surfaced before. RedState has previously reported on several real estate transactions involving the governor and his wife, including the acquisition and refinancing of a Fair Oaks estate and the later purchase of a multimillion-dollar Marin County property through an LLC associated with Jennifer Siebel Newsom.
Those transactions have drawn scrutiny from critics who argue that aspects of the purchases raise unanswered questions. No public findings of wrongdoing have been announced, and the exact focus of any current investigation remains unclear.
