The governor of the US state of California, Gavin Newsom, is seen speaking in Munich, Germany [File: Johannes Simon/Getty Images]By Al Jazeera StaffPublished On 15 Jun 202615 Jun 2026
California Governor Gavin Newsom, a Democrat and top critic of United States President Donald Trump, has said he is being investigated by the US Department of Justice.
In a video post on X on Monday, Newsom said the investigation was politically motivated and that he was being targeted because he is considering a US presidential run in 2028. Newsom said the Department of Justice was also investigating his wife.
The department has not confirmed any investigation into Newsom.
“Today, my wife & I joined Donald Trump’s hit list,” Newsom said in the post. “He isn’t coming after me because of mean tweets, but because I am considering running for President.”
Newsom added that investigators had not found a crime and that the couple had “nothing to hide”.
The governor said that federal agents had been seeking to interview his friends and former employees, “not because they found a crime, because they’re trying to find one”.
He said investigators were also focusing on his wife, Jennifer Siebel Newsom, who runs a non-profit that promotes women’s equality.
Newsom further called Trump “the most corrupt president in American history”. He accused the Department of Justice, which is currently headed by Trump loyalist Todd Blanche, of “abusing the grand jury process” in trying to build a case against him.
Trump has repeatedly vowed to prosecute his political opponents.
Since he took office in 2025, the Department of Justice has indicted or sought to indict New York Attorney General Letitia James and Former FBI Director James Comey, who both investigated the president.
The Department of Justice has also investigated US Senator Adam Schiff, who led impeachment proceedings against Trump during his first term, and Minnesota Governor Tim Walz, a top critic who ran as the Democratic vice presidential candidate in 2024.
Trump has regularly railed against Newsom on social media, often referring to him as “Newscum”.
The US president in June of last year said Newsom should be arrested amid a standoff over immigration enforcement protests in California.
Newsom, who is term-limited as governor and leaves office in January 2027, has adopted a similarly caustic approach online.
Most recently, he posted a montage of Trump apparently sleeping during public events on Sunday, the president’s 80th birthday.
