BREAKING: Donald Trump Tries to IMPRISON Gavin Newsom as His 2028 Odds SURGE
Donald Trump has spent his second term turning the Justice Department into a personal weapon. He fired an attorney general who wasn’t aggressive enough. He replaced her with someone who said it’s “appropriate” for the president to direct investigations. He has indicted former FBI directors, sitting senators, and state attorneys general.
On June 15, he added a new name to the list: Gavin Newsom.
And when that wasn’t enough, he went after Newsom’s wife.
What Happened
California Governor Gavin Newsom announced Monday that he and his wife, Jennifer Siebel Newsom, are being investigated by Trump’s Justice Department. “Today, my wife & I joined Donald Trump’s hit list,” he wrote. “He has directed his Department of Justice to investigate us.”
Newsom said federal agents had knocked on the doors of family friends and former employees — not because they found a crime, but because they are trying to find one. Investigators have demanded records and “random documents.”
The White House referred NBC News to the DOJ for comment. The DOJ declined to comment.
Who They’re Going After
Jennifer Siebel Newsom is a documentary filmmaker and public advocate who has spent her career focused on women and girls. She is not a politician. She holds no office.
Newsom said agents are “coming after my wife, Jen, a public servant, a woman who’s 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.” The governor added: “If they can’t intimidate me, they’ll go after the mother of our children.”
According to two sources familiar with the investigation, the probe into Newsom’s wife concerns “her taxes.” The focus of the investigation into the governor himself is unclear. The probe is being run out of Sacramento, under Eastern District of California U.S. Attorney Eric Grant — not out of the office of Bill Essayli, first assistant U.S. attorney for the Central District, who has a documented history of launching political attacks against Newsom on social media.
This Is a Pattern, Not a Coincidence
Trump has not been subtle about what he is doing.
The reported probe follows a spree of federal indictments and investigations against Trump’s perceived political enemies, including former FBI Director James Comey, New York Attorney General Letitia James, and Sen. Adam Schiff. In all of those cases, Trump had publicly urged Justice Department officials to go after them. All have denied wrongdoing.
Last year, Trump openly endorsed the idea of arresting Newsom during clashes between his administration and California officials over immigration enforcement in Los Angeles. “Gavin likes the publicity, but I think it would be a great thing,” Trump told reporters.
He said the quiet part out loud. His DOJ is now doing the work, going after people who pose a political threat to him, even as he is constitutionally illegible to run for a third term.
The DOJ Has Been Rebuilt for This
This is not a coincidence of personnel. Trump engineered it.
Trump fired Attorney General Pam Bondi in April, in part because she struggled to carry out prosecutions of his targets. He replaced her with Todd Blanche — who told reporters in April that it is “appropriate” for the president to direct investigations.
That is the attorney general of the United States saying the president should be able to point at his enemies and have them investigated. That used to be called corruption. In Trump’s second term, it’s official policy.
The Trump administration also tried and failed to indict six sitting members of Congress over a social media video that reminded military and intelligence officials not to follow unlawful orders — after Trump claimed the video was “seditious behavior, punishable by death.”
They came for Congress. They came for the FBI. They came for state attorneys general. Now they’re coming for the governor of the largest state in the country — and his wife.
Why Newsom
Newsom said the probe is politically motivated because of his repeated public criticisms of Trump and because he is considering a run for the presidency. Trump and Newsom have clashed throughout Trump’s second term over wildfire management, immigration, redistricting, and the deployment of the National Guard to California over Newsom’s explicit objection. Trump routinely refers to the governor as “Newscum.”
Newsom is one of the most prominent Democratic voices in the country and a potential 2028 presidential candidate. That is not unrelated to the fact that federal agents are now knocking on his family’s friends’ doors.
The Bottom Line
Donald Trump publicly called for Gavin Newsom’s arrest. Then his Justice Department opened an investigation into Newsom and his wife.
The DOJ won’t comment. The White House referred reporters to the DOJ. The attorney general has already said the president directing investigations is “appropriate.”
Newsom’s response was direct: “Donald Trump picked the wrong target. We have nothing to hide.” He called Trump “simply the most corrupt president in American history.”
And he’s not wrong. A president who weaponizes federal law enforcement against his political opponents and their spouses is not running a justice department. He’s running a hit list.
Newsom just confirmed he’s on it.