California Gov. Gavin Newsom said Monday that he and his wife are being investigated by the Justice Department and accused President Donald Trump of targeting him for political reasons.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
\u201cToday, my wife & I joined Donald Trump\u2019s hit list. He has directed his Department of Justice to investigate us,\u201d he said in a post on X, referring to his wife, Jennifer Siebel Newsom.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Agents have \u201cknocked on the doors on family friends and former employees. Not because they\u2019ve found a crime, but because they\u2019re trying to find one,\u201d Newsom said in a video, posted on X. He said the investigators have demanded records and \u201crandom documents.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n
The governor did not comment on the substance of the probe, but said agents were \u201ccoming after my wife, Jen, a public servant, a woman who\u2019s dedicated her life to supporting women and girls, someone who has done nothing wrong other than having the temerity to advocate for what she believes in.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n
\u201cIf they can\u2019t intimidate me, they\u2019ll go after the mother of our children. Donald Trump picked the wrong target. We have nothing to hide,\u201d he said.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
The White House referred NBC News to the DOJ for comment. The DOJ declined to comment.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
In a call with reporters Monday afternoon, aides to the governor said that more than a dozen people were contacted by FBI and IRS agents about the governor and his wife. The aides said some of the questions to those people were about specific financial transactions \u201cthat would be possible to ask only if the investigators have business records\u201d or \u201ccredit card statements\u201d that made it clear to the governor\u2019s team that investigators had subpoenaed various financial records. They added that they were aware of any subpoenas for the governor or his wife.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
The FBI declined to comment, and the IRS did not immediately respond to a request for comment Monday night.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
A \u201cfact sheet\u201d released by Newsom\u2019s office said investigators had been seeking records and conducting interviews involving organizations connected to the Newsoms.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
\u201cIn recent weeks, as Todd Blanche (the President\u2019s personal attorney) took over as the acting head of DOJ, investigators have expanded their inquiry into increasingly personal matters involving the Governor\u2019s family and professional network,\u201d the document said.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Newsom, a Democrat who has repeatedly clashed with the president, said the probe is politically motivated because of his criticisms of Trump and because he is also considering a run for the Oval Office.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
The reported probe follows a spree of federal indictments and investigations against Trump\u2019s perceived political enemies, including former FBI Director James Comey, New York Attorney General Letitia James and Sen. Adam Schiff, D-Calif. In all of those cases, Trump had publicly urged Justice Department officials to go after them. All have denied wrongdoing.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Bill Essayli, first assistant U.S. attorney for the Central District of California, has had an adversarial relationship with Newsom and has launched political attacks against the California governor on social media.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
But the investigation does not appear to have emerged from Essayli\u2019s office, but rather is being run out of Sacramento, under the control of Eastern District of California U.S. Attorney Eric Grant, according to two sources familiar with the investigation.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Last month, Newsom\u2019s former chief of staff, Dana Williamson, pleaded guilty to a few federal charges in a case out of that district. The governor\u2019s wife is under investigation for \u201cher taxes,\u201d one of the sources said. The focus of the probe into Newsom is unclear.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Trump and Newsom have clashed repeatedly through the president\u2019s second term over issues ranging from wildfire management, immigration, redistricting and the president\u2019s decision to deploy the National Guard over the objections of the governor, whom Trump repeatedly refers to as \u201cNewscum.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Newsom suggested in his post that Trump should be the one under investigation, calling him \u201csimply the most corrupt president in American history.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Trump last year endorsed the idea of arresting Newsom during clashes between the administration and officials in California over immigration enforcement in Los Angeles. \u201cGavin likes the publicity, but I think it would be a great thing,\u201d Trump told reporters.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Acting Attorney General Todd Blanche told reporters in April that it\u2019s \u201cappropriate\u201d for the president to direct investigations.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
The Trump administration also tried and failed to indict six sitting members of Congress over a social media video that reminded members of the military and intelligence communities not to obey unlawful orders after Trump claimed the video was \u201cseditious behavior, punishable by death.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Blanche was named to the job after Trump fired Attorney General Pam Bondi in April, in part because she\u2019d struggled to carry out prosecutions of Trump\u2019s targets, NBC News reported.<\/p>\n\n\n\n