California Gov. Gavin Newsom (D-Calif.) wants you to believe he's the victim. Last month, when Newsom announced that the U.S. Department of Justice had him and his wife, Jennifer Siebel Newsom, under criminal investigation, he insisted it was lawfare and that President Donald Trump was just going after him because he’s likely to run for president in 2028.
And he’s really trying to play the victim here. He told reporters that "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." He claimed agents were "demanding records" and "abusing the grand jury process." He did not name a single person involved or specify what records agents actually wanted.
Poor baby.
What he doesn’t want people to know is that the investigations originated in Sacramento and began during the Biden administration, with at least one thread reaching into Jennifer Siebel Newsom's taxes and the nonprofits she runs. Investigators are reportedly digging into the finances and fundraising of those nonprofits and their ties to companies with business pending before the California government.
And boy, does it look like the walls are closing in on him. According to Jessica Van Laar at our sister site RedState, Newsom has lawyered up, and despite claiming to be the victim of lawfare with nothing to hide, he’s been stonewalling the investigation.
His legal affairs secretary filed a sweeping Freedom of Information Act request against the DOJ, on the taxpayer's dime, and Newsom told a Thursday press conference that he and his wife hired private counsel. However, he wouldn't name the attorney.
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Then there are the tax returns Newsom promised and never delivered. On June 19, his spokeswoman said his office was "working to prepare" his 2021 through 2025 returns "for transparency," insisting "unlike Donald Trump, the Governor has nothing to hide." When a reporter pressed him at the press conference, Newsom said, "I already have. I've given 20 years of my taxes, yes. I know you love taxes. Donald Trump... when's he releasing his taxes?" Asked whether he was different from Trump, he answered, "I am, because that's why I've released all my taxes for decades, and you will have all those new tax returns, because I have no reason why you haven't gotten them already, so I have no problem..."
That's not quite true.
Newsom has released full returns only for 2017 through 2020, and only because state law required them before he could appear on the 2022 primary ballot. He filed an extension on his 2021 taxes just to limit himself to four years of disclosure. California journalists have asked for more ever since and gotten nothing but the state-required Form 700, which has drawn him multiple fines over omissions. His returns from 2010 through 2016 remain largely undocumented.
Gee, I wonder why.
It’s almost as if he’s hiding something.
As for the "poor and innocent" people Newsom says agents are harassing, he won't name them, either.
Newsom's office said in mid-June that he expected subpoenas, adding, "The Governor looks forward to it." None have arrived yet. But the more Newsom postures for cameras instead of releasing his taxes, the more it looks like a man trying to get ahead of bad news, not one with nothing to hide.
Has anyone ever told him that it’s not a good look to act guilty?
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