California Gov. Gavin Newsom said a federal government investigation into his finances is just an attempt by President Trump’s administration is only happening because I might run for president. But two investigative reporters who wrote a book about Newsom’s corruption say he’s merely playing the victim to the hilt. Susan Crabtree of RealClearPolitics and Jedd McFatter of the Government Accountability Institute wrote a deeply researched book last year on California political corruption. That book, FOOL’S GOLD: The Radicals, Con Artists, and Traitors Who Killed the California Dream and Now Threaten Us All detailed numerous issues concerning Newsom and his wife, Jennifer Siebel Newsom. On the most recent episode of the On Background podcast, they join co-host Eric Eggers to take a look at Newsom’s corruption problems. As Crabtree notes, this corruption probe was begun by prosecutors based in Sacramento before Trump took office. A whistleblower started talking to these prosecutors in Sacramento last year, Crabtree says. We know through sources in and around the Department of Justice, that Gavin Newsom’s wife is under investigation for her many nonprofits. In the book, we were among the first to scrutinize the donations she received as well as the compensation she has been receiving from all these non-profits. A whistleblower came forward last year. His chief of staff already pleaded guilty. Susan Crabtree and Jedd McFatter lay out the rest alongside announced he is the target of a federal investigation Jedd McFatter California law allows something called behested payments, which are payments made at the request, suggestion, or influence of an elected official to a third party to a charitable governmental, or legislative purpose that are. It’s a shakedown, Crabtree says. Basically, he can say to the biggest utility that caused the most deadly wildfires in California, ‘Hey, I want you to contribute to my wife’s charity while I’m in the middle of negotiating your bailout for causing all these wildfires.’ Crabtree explains. Crabtree mentions another example, found last year by the Washington Free Beacon. The Federated Indians of Graton Rancheria operate Graton Resort & Casino in Sonoma County. In April 2024, they made a $ 500,000 donation to Jennifer Siebel Newsom’s nonprofit group California Partners Project. A few months later, Gov. Newsom’s office sent a letter to the U.S. Department of Interior urging it to reject another tribe’s effort to build a rival casino 15 miles away from Graton Rancheria’s operation. Graton Rancheria made a further $ 500,000 to the California Partners Project in April 2025-again at Gov. Newsom’s behest. As many have noted, it looks suspiciously like a quid pro quo. Yet, the problem for prosecutors is that these payments may still be technically legal under California’s unusual behested payments law. Eggers agrees. If it’s legalized, that might make it harder for the Justice department to find evidence of a crime, he says, before asking McFatter if there are other matters the Justice Department may be looking into. There’s a whole host of them, McFatter says. Newsom made numerous backroom deals with the Chinese government while mayor of San Francisco that benefitted him and his business interests personally. A nonprofit he created, ChinaSF, worked with Chinese figures who were later indicted for espionage or fraud. I think another thing that they should look into is straw donation schemes. Money has been poured into his campaigns from organized crime groups, McFatter says, noting the detail was reported in FOOL’S GOLD. He hasn’t given a lot of that money back, McFatter says. McFatter and Crabtree describe numerous other stories, all detailed in the book, involving Newsom’s connections to the Chinese government, his wineries, and other issues.
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