Photo: Alamy
California Democrat Governor Gavin Newsom’s former chief of staff was arrested by the FBI on Wednesday in a shocking political corruption, conspiracy, and fraud case, resulting in a 23-count indictment.
The suspect, political consultant Dana Williamson, 53, was charged by a federal grand jury on Wednesday with conspiracy to commit bank and wire fraud, bank fraud, wire fraud, conspiracy to defraud the U.S. and obstruct justice, making false statements, and subscribing to false tax returns, the U.S. Attorney’s Office said in an official press release.
The indictment alleges that Williamson, between 2022 to 2024, “conspired with others to divert approximately $225,000 in funds from a dormant political campaign to an associate’s personal use.” It also alleges that Williamson, with others, funneled money through various businesses and entities. Other allegations include false contract creation, false tax returns, and false statements regarding her discussions with FBI agents during investigations into these affairs.
“Today’s charges are a result of three years of relentless investigative work, in partnership with IRS Criminal Investigation and the U.S. Attorney’s Office,” said Sacramento FBI Special Agent Sid Patel in a statement.
He continued, “The FBI will remain vigilant in its efforts to uncover fraud and corruption, ensuring our government systems are held to the highest standards.”
The indictment accused Williamson of allegedly conspiring with other associates in some of these potential schemes. In the court documents, one of these suspects was listed as “Co-Conspirator 2,” and described as a “former California public official.”
However, the named co-conspirators in court documents are allegedly Greg Campbell (a Democrat strategist) and Sean McCluskie (former top aide to the previous HHS Secretary Xavier Becerra), as well as McCluskie’s spouse.
According to Cal Matters, these alleged crimes occurred during Williamson’s tenure as Gov. Newsom’s top aide, and the outlet identified “Co-Conspirator 2” as allegedly being Alexis Podesta, a high-profile political consultant with whom many may be familiar from the days of former Democrat Governor Jerry Brown.
Per Politico, Newsom placed Williamson on leave last year after she came under criminal investigation by the FBI. Just weeks later, she officially left her job.
Former Health and Human Services Secretary and former California Attorney General Xavier Becerra is currently running for governor in the Golden State. Per Cal Matters, Becerra had no knowledge of this alleged scheme, but called the accusations regarding one of his long-term advisors (McCluskie) a “gut punch.” Becerra is not implicated in this indictment.
If Williamson is convicted on these charges, she faces a maximum of 20 years in prison, as well as steep fines for each count, according to the DOJ.