California Gov. Gavin Newsom has directed more than $340 million in behested payments since 2011, including millions for his wife’s nonprofit, while federal investigators examine financial matters involving the Newsom family and related nonprofit organizations.
By yourNEWS Media Newsroom
California Gov. Gavin Newsom’s long-running use of behested payments is drawing new scrutiny as federal investigators review financial matters involving the governor, his wife and nonprofit organizations connected to them.
Newsom, who has positioned himself nationally as a critic of alleged corruption in President Donald Trump’s administration, has directed more than $340 million in donations to political projects, nonprofits, corporations and allied causes since first running for statewide office in 2011, according to a report by Just the News.
The donations were made through California’s system of “behested payments,” a legal but controversial practice that allows elected officials to request payments for governmental, legislative or charitable purposes.
Newsom, who is considering a 2028 presidential campaign, has repeatedly accused Trump of corruption and pay-to-play politics. Trump and his allies have denied those claims.
“The Trump Administration is a story of corruption,” Newsom posted to social media in May, citing Trump’s White House ballroom project, IRS settlements involving political allies and the president’s use of pardons.
“Californians have the moral and formal authority to fight back against Donald Trump as he wrecks this nation,” Newsom said. “We cannot allow corruption to be normalized.”
Newsom’s criticism of Trump became more personal this week when the governor announced that he and his wife, Jennifer Siebel Newsom, are under investigation by the Justice Department.
“They have not found a crime — they are simply trying to find one. He isn’t coming after me because of mean tweets, but because I am considering running for President,” Newsom said in a public statement announcing the investigation.
Public reporting indicates the inquiry began in 2022 under President Joe Biden while federal authorities were investigating Dana Williamson, Newsom’s former chief of staff, for bank and wire fraud.
The Justice Department declined to comment when Just the News asked whether the probe into Newsom and his wife was connected to concerns about behested payments, donations to Siebel Newsom’s nonprofit or whether entities used the payment system to influence the governor.
The Sacramento Bee reported Monday that the Justice Department probe is focused on Siebel Newsom’s taxes and nonprofit organizations, citing anonymous sources. The outlet reported that “several” investigations involving the Newsoms were sparked by whistleblower complaints submitted to the U.S. Attorney’s Office in Sacramento last year. The Bee said the inquiry is focused on taxes and nonprofit organizations.
The behested payments drawing the most attention involve donations Newsom solicited for the California Partners Project, a nonprofit launched by Siebel Newsom in 2020 to promote gender equality.
California’s Fair Political Practices Commission defines behested payments as payments “made for a legislative, governmental, or charitable purpose” under “the control or at the direction of, in cooperation, consultation, coordination, or concert with, at the request or suggestion of, or with the express, prior consent of an elected official.”
The practice is permitted under California law and is publicly disclosed under state ethics rules. Critics, however, argue that it creates opportunities for influence and conflicts of interest.
“The whole concept of behested payments is disgusting,” Steve Hilton, a Republican candidate for governor in California, told the California Post earlier this year. “It’s literally corruption in plain sight. You can be certain that, as governor, I will not be engaging in this corrupt practice and I will do everything in my power to ban it.”
According to a review of California Fair Political Practices Commission records cited by Just the News, Newsom has solicited more than $340 million in donations since he first ran statewide and was elected lieutenant governor in 2011. The payments went to a broad range of recipients and purposes, including inauguration funds, California fire relief, charities, corporations, liberal nonprofits and political allies.
Some of the donors had political connections to Newsom or business before the governor’s administration.
Newsom’s press office did not immediately respond to a request for comment from Just the News.
The California Post first reported in March that Newsom solicited donations from liberal nonprofits and other organizations for the California Partners Project. The Post found that the nonprofit received $4.4 million in donations at Newsom’s behest, based on state disclosure records and tax forms.
Several of those donations are now receiving renewed attention because they came from entities with interests before the state.
One example involves the Federated Indians of Graton Rancheria, which operates a casino about 15 miles from the site of a proposed $700 million casino project planned by the Koi Nation, a small Native American tribe.
In August 2024, Newsom intervened with the Biden administration, urging the Interior Department to reject the Koi Nation project. The Biden administration approved the project despite Newsom’s objections. Newsom later sued the Trump administration in May in another effort to block it.
Blocking the Koi Nation casino would benefit the Federated Indians of Graton Rancheria, which operates a nearby casino. The tribe has accused the Koi Nation of attempting to usurp its ancestral homeland for the casino project.
In April 2024, months before Newsom sent his letter to the Biden administration, he reported soliciting a $500,000 donation from the Federated Indians of Graton Rancheria to the California Partners Project, according to California state records reviewed by Just the News and first reported by the Washington Free Beacon last year.
The records also show that Newsom solicited another $500,000 donation from the tribe in April 2025, about a month before his administration filed suit against the U.S. Interior Department over the Koi Nation casino.
The tribe had also given $500,000 to the California Partners Project in March 2023, two months before Newsom signed a law ratifying a tribal-state gaming compact between California and the Federated Indians of Graton Rancheria.
Newsom’s ties to Silicon Valley Bank have also drawn attention. The bank was bailed out by the Biden administration in March 2023 after lobbying from Newsom. At the time, Newsom did not disclose several connections to the bank, including donations to Siebel Newsom’s nonprofit and his own accounts there.
“The Biden Administration has acted swiftly and decisively to protect the American economy and strengthen public confidence in our banking system,” Newsom said in an official statement after the Biden administration decided to federally insure Silicon Valley Bank depositors.
Newsom’s office acknowledged that the governor had lobbied for the bailout, saying he had “been in touch with the highest levels of leadership at the White House and Treasury.”
Silicon Valley Bank’s website listed three wineries owned by Newsom — CADE, Odette and PlumpJack — as clients, according to the Intercept. The outlet also reported that Newsom maintained personal accounts with the bank for years, though it was not clear whether he remained a direct client in 2023. Newsom’s office said his “business and financial holdings” are managed by a blind trust.
In 2021, Newsom solicited four donations from Silicon Valley Bank to the California Partners Project totaling $100,000. John China, a former president of SVB Capital, also previously served on the nonprofit’s board.
Blue Shield of California Foundation also donated $50,000 to the California Partners Project in 2024 at Newsom’s behest, according to state records. During the COVID-19 pandemic, Newsom awarded Blue Shield a no-bid vaccination contract. During that period, Newsom reportedly solicited a total of $20.8 million from the organization.
Newsom’s office has described the federal investigations involving him and his wife as politically motivated.
“Trump’s political appointees have aggressively pushed federal investigators to build a case against the Governor — Trump’s political rival,” the governor’s office said in a statement Tuesday.
The governor’s office also announced that it had submitted a Freedom of Information Act request to the Justice Department seeking communications involving senior agency officials that mention Newsom or his wife since the start of Trump’s second administration.
“My office is demanding the Trump Administration release any and all records on the Trump DOJ’s politically motivated, baseless fishing expedition,” Newsom said in a post to X. “The American people deserve to know who ordered this abuse of power and how far it goes.”
The inquiry remains ongoing. Federal officials have not publicly announced charges against Newsom or Siebel Newsom, and the Justice Department has not publicly confirmed the full scope of its investigation.
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