Add The California Post on Google Gov. Gavin Newsom grew testy Thursday when pressed on not releasing his tax returns since 2020, deflecting to President Trump while insisting that federal investigations into him and his wife are part of a White House-directed witch hunt to “find something.”
The California Democrat — who has sought to position himself as one of Trump’s chief antagonists ahead of a likely 2028 presidential run — was asked during a news conference for updates on his taxes and the federal investigations involving him, First Partner Jennifer Siebel Newsom, his staff and people in his political orbit.
“I know you love taxes,” Newsom said. “Donald Trump, when has he released them?”
The Post and other media outlets previously reported that investigators were examining Siebel Newsom’s taxes, while also looking at matters connected to Newsom’s former chief of staff, Dana Williamson, who has pleaded guilty in a federal corruption case.
When the governor was reminded Thursday that he has attempted to position himself as different from Trump, Newsom said he had previously released his taxes but had no answer for why he has failed to provide them in recent years as promised.
“I am [different], that’s why I released all my taxes for decades,” Newsom said.
Despite repeatedly pledging to release his tax returns every year while in office, Newsom has not publicly disclosed returns beyond those covering tax year 2020. He released several years’ worth of returns alongside his gubernatorial campaigns, according to Cal Matters and the Sacramento Bee, but has not released any further tax filings since 2022.
“And you will have all those new tax returns, because — I have no reason why you haven’t gotten them already.”
The governor, who spoke at Robert E. Willett Elementary School in Davis to draw attention to his record education budget, declined to provide more specifics or updates on who in his inner orbit has been contacted by federal investigators.
“It says everything you need to know about the United States of America under Donald Trump, and so we continue to maintain vigilance as it relates to the just weaponization by the Department of Justice and other power ministries under the Trump administration,” Newsom said.
“I don’t have much more to add, except it’s pretty disgraceful.”
Newsom announced the federal probes in a video last month, accusing the Trump administration of weaponizing law enforcement against him and his family. Asked why he chose to reveal the investigations that way, Newsom framed it as a necessary public warning.
“Well, that was table stakes, and it’s pretty obvious that I’m not timid as it relates to calling out the abuses of the most corrupt administration in American history,” Newsom said.
The investigations come as Williamson prepares for a September sentencing hearing in her federal corruption case. Williamson, who served as Newsom’s chief of staff from 2022 to 2024, pleaded guilty in May to conspiracy to commit bank and wire fraud, subscribing to a false tax return and lying to the FBI.
Last week, Williamson’s attorney told The Post that one of Newsom’s appointees — lobbyist Alexis Podesta — had worn a wire in the FBI’s investigation into Williamson. The governor’s office disputed that Podesta, who served on the governor’s cabinet and was closely aligned on political matters with Williamson while she ran the governor’s office, was part of Newsom’s political orbit.
While providing scant information during Thursday’s news conference, Newsom pivoted into a sharp attack against Trump’s “great grift,” referencing recent financial disclosures that Trump has raked in at least $2 billion since returning to the White House.
“What more events did you need than the tax returns that he just put out?” Newsom said.
“The $2.2 billion in income that Donald Trump received. The fact that investors in his meme coin lost $3.8 billion while he made up over $600 million — the great grift.”
Newsom said the federal scrutiny had forced people around him to seek legal help and accused Trump of targeting his wife because he could not reach him directly.
“Poor and innocent people getting knocks on the door first thing in the morning. I mean, to hire private attorneys — lives and reputation at risk for no other reason than they want to take me out,” Newsom said.
“Going after my wife, doesn’t have the guts — he’s tried. … Couldn’t figure out how to get me. Now he’s trying to find anyone around us, that’s America, that’s abusive, it’s wrong.”
The governor said he went public because the situation had gone too far.
“I wanted to socialize it, because I thought it was the right thing to do,” Newsom said. “People need to know what’s going on, and there’s a certain point where it’s just: enough’s enough, and we absorbed a lot of it. And I said, ‘This is ridiculous,’ just going in 52 different directions again, because they were told, ‘find something.’”
Newsom offered little detail when asked about his own Freedom of Information Act request regarding the federal investigation.
“I don’t know enough details about what detailed requests have come in,” Newsom said. “I just haven’t been privy to any of those requests directly that have gone to other people, so I haven’t seen them directly, so I don’t know much more than you do about that.”
The governor did not provide a specific date when his missing tax returns would be released.
