Newsom would consider a 2028 presidential campaign after the November 2026 midterm elections.

U.S. media outlets and political pundits are offering opposing perspectives on California Governor Gavin Newsom’s remarks on Monday, which alleged that inquiries pursued by federal investigators involving him and his wife are politically motivated retaliation by U.S. President Donald Trump.

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The U.S. Department of Justice (DOJ) has declined to acknowledge a probe. NBC News and Axios reported that the U.S. Attorney’s Office is handling the inquiries for the Eastern District of California in Sacramento, while CNBC/MS NOW reported that one inquiry concerns tax filings of Jennifer Siebel Newsom, the wife of Gavin Newsom, and possible personal use of nonprofit funds.

Newsom described the reported inquiries as political retaliation by Trump. In a video posted Monday, Newsom said, “Donald Trump isn’t just coming after me because of my mean Tweets. He’s coming after me because I am considering running for President.”

The news outlet Politico reported that an inquiry into California’s 54 million U.S.-dollar settlement with video game maker Activision Blizzard had been expanded. The DOJ has not publicly confirmed the reported Activision-related inquiry.

Newsom’s office also said it filed a Freedom of Information Act request seeking DOJ communications about him and his wife. Axios, citing a source that the inquiries originated from “whistleblowers and local sources in California” and were not ordered by Trump or senior DOJ officials in Washington.

Republican critics have also cited the May 14 guilty plea by Dana Williamson, Newsom’s former chief of staff, in a federal case that began under the Biden administration.

According to the DOJ, Williamson pleaded guilty to conspiracy to commit bank fraud and wire fraud, filing a false tax return and making false statements to federal investigators. The DOJ statement on Williamson’s plea did not announce any charge against Newsom.

CNN, NBC News and the New York Times placed the disclosure in the context of other DOJ actions involving people publicly criticized by Trump, including former Federal Bureau of Investigation (FBI) Director James Comey and New York Attorney General Letitia James. CNN reported that federal judges dismissed cases against them both.

Yahoo News reported that Siebel Newsom’s public role and nonprofit fundraising complicated Newsom’s claim that the inquiries were political. Conservative outlets, including Fox News, RedState and the Federalist, focused on Williamson’s guilty plea, nonprofit finances and California spending controversies.

Illinois Governor JB Pritzker, a Democrat, called the investigations “a dangerous escalation by Trump,” while California Representative Robert Garcia said Trump “goes after people that stand up to him,” reported Politico.

Several U.S. reports connected the dispute to earlier clashes between Trump and Newsom over the January 2025 Los Angeles-area wildfires, National Guard deployments, California vehicle emissions standards and congressional redistricting.

In a January 2026 executive order, Trump directed the Federal Emergency Management Agency to review whether California had received federal disaster relief funds “arbitrarily, capriciously, or contrary to law.” The executive order concerned disaster relief funds, while the reported inquiries concern tax, nonprofit and Activision-related issues.

The Washington Examiner quoted Democratic strategist Garry South, who has worked on Newsom campaigns, as saying that being targeted by Trump was “a badge of honor to Democrats.” The same outlet quoted California political analyst Matt Klink as saying Newsom’s announcement “keeps him at the top of every Democrat’s mind for a presidential candidate in 2028.”

CBS News has reported that Newsom would consider a 2028 presidential campaign after the November 2026 midterm elections.

teleSUR/ JF

Source: Xinhua

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