Newsom Claims Trump DOJ Is Investigating Him and His Family

California Governor Gavin Newsom dropped a bombshell this week, accusing the Department of Justice under President Donald Trump of launching what he calls a politically motivated investigation into him, his wife Jennifer Siebel Newsom, and other family members. In a video posted online Monday, Newsom detailed federal agents contacting family members, friends, and former employees while seeking records—a dragnet he characterizes as a search for wrongdoing that simply doesn’t exist.

The governor’s office laid out the scope in a statement to us: investigators have been asking questions about his finances, organizations connected to First Partner Jennifer Siebel Newsom, and personal family matters. They’ve also been subpoenaing records from a wide circle. Newsom doesn’t mince words about who he believes is pulling the strings, directly alleging that Trump is behind the effort because Newsom is considering a presidential run after Trump’s term ends in January 2027.

Throughout the video, Newsom went further, calling Trump“the most corrupt president in American history”and accusing him of weaponizing federal power against political opponents. This isn’t Newsom’s first public clash with the current administration—he’s become one of Trump’s most outspoken critics, and that high-profile friction adds weight to his allegations.

Here’s where it gets interesting: Newsom’s office claims investigators previously examined allegations tied to Activision, but that theory went nowhere. Now, his team argues, they’re casting a wider net—”chasing ghosts”and looking for anything they can use. The statement suggests this is less about evidence and more about pressure from the White House to find something, anything, that sticks.

As a potential 2028 Democratic presidential contender, Newsom is already positioning himself as a target of executive overreach. Whether that framing resonates depends partly on what, if anything, the DOJ ultimately uncovers. For now, the investigation itself has become the story—and a flashpoint in the broader debate about the limits of presidential power.