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Last month, California Democrat Gavin Newsom promised that if any California residents received payouts from a then-hypothetical “Anti-Weaponization” fund spearheaded by President Trump, he would tax that money “100 percent.”
“Anyone from California that receives any of those funds, we want to tax 100 percent of those proceeds,” he told reporters last month.
The anti-weaponization fund has since been shelved, according to Acting Attorney General Todd Blanche, but in an ironic twist, the California governor now seems to be claiming that he is the victim of government weaponization.
In a video statement released on Monday, Gov. Newsom claimed that the U.S. Department of Justice was investigating him and his wife, Jennifer Siebel Newsom.
“Donald Trump isn’t just coming after me because of my mean tweets!” Newsom declared. “He’s coming after me because I’m considering running for president.”
Newsom accused the president on X of being “corrupt,” and challenged him to “come after me.”
“I’m not going anywhere,” Newsom wrote. “The country is watching.”
It’s unclear what kind of DOJ investigation Newsom is talking about, but The New York Times, in a new report, said that a “person familiar with the matter confirmed that multiple federal investigations were underway related to the governor, including one looking at his wife’s finances.”
Gov. Newsom’s remarks about government weaponization are interesting, considering the barrage of lawsuits and investigations President Trump was subjected to during the 2024 presidential election cycle, including four federal charges related to a federal election case, and another 40 federal counts for alleged mishandling of classified documents. The cases have since been resolved following the president’s reelection win in November 2024.
Adam Housley, a well-known journalist, said on X that Gov. Newsom’s claims about the DOJ aren’t exactly shocking. “As I have reported several times and now acknowledged by the Governor of California…Gavin and his wife are under federal investigation… what he failed to tell you… This began during the Biden Admin. Kind of a big detail,” Housley alleged.
He further claimed, “The investigation has multiple arms. Some of it connected here in the Napa Valley. It was first handled by agents from the Sacramento FBI, and I was told it was taken over by the San Francisco office.”
It’s unclear what the timeline is for these current investigations Gov. Newsom is referring to, but the NYT noted that a person familiar with the situation claimed that inquiries were “initiated by federal law enforcement officials in California, not launched by officials in Washington.”
The Department of Justice has not yet issued a comment on the situation at this time of this article’s publication.
“You can subpoena my records,” Newsom stated in his video. “You can investigate me. You can harass me. Put my name on every and any enemies list you have, but leave my wife and family out of your personal vendetta.”