Three months after announcing a federal investigation involving him and his wife, Gov. Gavin Newsom says investigators still have not contacted him.
Speaking to reporters at a Wednesday news conference, the California Democrat said he has heard nothing directly from federal officials and knows little about the reported inquiries into his professional relationships, family finances and travel funded by nonprofit groups.
“I know nothing more than you know. Period, full stop,” Newsom said.
“Never been contacted by anyone and I continue to make this point. They continue to zig and zag and I stand by everything I said in my opening remarks on this,” the governor added, referring to a prerecorded June 15 statement in which he characterized the federal scrutiny as a political attack.
The lame-duck governor, who is widely expected to pursue a presidential campaign, made the remarks during an extended question-and-answer session with Sacramento reporters after signing a bill that provides tax credits to local newsrooms.
Although the investigation has not produced any indictments, federal officials have focused on Newsom’s international travel, which was paid for by wealthy donors, according to the San Francisco Standard.
A Vanity Fair profile published Wednesday pointed to another possible area of interest: Newsom’s controversial use of “behested payments” to support a nonprofit founded by his wife, Jennifer Siebel Newsom.
The article, in which Newsom compared himself to Bill Clinton and said he had written “36 pages of ideas” about national priorities, reported that investigators may be examining funds routed from a Sonoma County Native American tribe to his wife’s gender-focused nonprofit.
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Since 2022, Newsom has solicited $2.3 million in behested payments from the Federated Indians of Graton Rancheria for the California Partners Project, Jennifer Siebel Newsom’s nonprofit, which focuses on gender and pay equity, according to state records.
About three months after the tribe made a $500,000 contribution on March 23, 2023, Newsom appointed its chairman, Greg Sarris, to the influential University of California Board of Regents.
The governor’s office has defended Newsom’s use of behested payments and rejected any link between contributions and political appointments.
“The governor only makes decisions based on what is best for Californians, not campaign contributions or special interests,” Gallegos told The Post in June.
“Any suggestion otherwise is not only completely false, but absurd.”
The California Post previously reported that several donors to Newsom’s political action committee, Campaign for Democracy, or to nonprofits aligned with him received gubernatorial appointments shortly before or after making contributions.
The US Attorney’s Office also issued subpoenas this month seeking six years of communications involving the California State Protocol Foundation, a nonprofit operated by Newsom aides that frequently pays for his travel with private funds rather than taxpayer money.
Past corporate donors to the organization include CVS Pharmacy Inc. and Zoox, an autonomous vehicle company testing robotaxis in California. Charitable contributors have included the Hewelett Foundation, Sierra Health Foundation and the Ford Foundation, The Post previously reported.
According to reports, the subpoenas seek information about the Protocol Foundation’s donors and fundraising efforts, Newsom’s international travel and related events, as well as any money that may have been used for his personal or living expenses.
