SACRAMENTO — Following Governor Gavin Newsom’s announcement yesterday that President Donald Trump directed the Department of Justice to investigate the Governor and First Partner Jennifer Siebel Newsom after publicly calling for Newsom’s arrest last year, a series of troubling new reports have confirmed the Governor’s central claim. Trump’s political appointees have aggressively pushed federal investigators to build a case against the Governor — Trump’s political rival.
“The U.S. Attorney, Bill Essayli, sources have told us that he was PRESSING FOR WEEKS for his line attorneys to basically bring a criminal investigation or a criminal case against Gavin Newsom. That is not how the Department of Justice works.” (Source)
“The federal source said there were ‘several’ investigations into the Newsoms that had been ongoing for roughly ONE YEAR, and originated out of ‘whistleblower complaints’ submitted to the U.S. Attorney’s Office in Sacramento.” (Source)
Note DOJ’s specific and consistent use of the word “originated” in their anonymous media statements yesterday. Under Donald Trump, the DOJ has shown a willingness to seize on virtually ANY allegation — no matter how flimsy (see, for example, the investigation into Jerome Powell) — as a pretext for political appointees to then weaponize the justice system against the President’s enemies.
Taken together, the reporting confirms a disturbing picture: Following Trump’s call for Governor Newsom’s arrest, Trump’s political appointees were pressuring prosecutors to build a case against Governor Newsom and the First Partner and federal investigators have been searching for evidence of “wrongdoing.” Trump’s DOJ chose a target and has gone looking for a crime.