LOS ANGELES, June 15 - California Governor Gavin Newsom said on Monday that President Donald Trump has directed the Justice Department to investigate him and his wife.
In a video statement posted to X, Newsom accused the president of targeting him beyond ordinary political disputes. "Donald Trump isn’t just coming after me because of my mean Tweets," he said. "He’s coming after me because I am considering running for President."
Newsom said federal agents have recently been knocking on the doors of members of his family, friends and former employees, requesting documents and records. He asserted that those visits were not prompted by a clear criminal finding but were instead part of an effort to unearth wrongdoing: "Not because they found a crime. Because they are simply trying to find one," he said.
The Justice Department did not immediately respond to a request for comment about Newsom's allegations.
Newsom and Trump have long been adversaries, and the governor cited that sustained friction in outlining the context for his statement. The two have clashed on a range of high-profile issues, including climate change and pipeline policy, as well as the Republican president’s deployment of National Guard troops to the state last summer. Newsom presented the latest developments as an extension of that political rivalry rather than a narrow law enforcement matter.
This account, as provided by Newsom in his public statement, centers on recent contact between federal agents and people close to the governor and describes an allegation of political motivation behind investigative steps. The Department of Justice has not publicly addressed those claims as of the time Newsom spoke.
The situation raises immediate questions about the scope of any inquiry and the responses from both the Justice Department and the White House. Based strictly on the information Newsom offered in his statement, investigators have contacted associates and sought records, while Newsom attributes the effort to a directive from the president tied to potential electoral plans.