Gavin Newsom's chief of staff was indicted on 23 counts of bank and wire fraud last November.
Now Newsom is on X calling Trump "the most corrupt president in American history."
But a federal prosecutor already has a name for Gavin Newsom – and it isn't "watchdog."
The Man Lecturing Trump on Corruption
Newsom posted Saturday that Trump had spent "hundreds of millions of YOUR tax dollars" on the Qatar-gifted Boeing 747 and accused him of subpoenaing journalists to cover it up.
He called it "Air Fraud One."
https://twitter.com/TonySeruga/status/2075600347519975575?s=20
The irony is so thick you could land a plane on it.
While Newsom was composing that post, a federal task force launched by the Trump administration was already investigating California for what one prosecutor called the largest fraud operation in the state's history.
First Assistant U.S. Attorney Bill Essayli went on Fox & Friends in January and called Newsom "the king of fraud" – his words, not ours.
"California has spent $24 billion in the last five years on homelessness, and no one can account for where that money has really gone," Essayli said.
City Journal estimates California has lost at least $180 billion to fraud since Newsom took office.
That's not a typo.
The People Around Newsom
Newsom's circle tells you everything you need to know.
His own chief of staff – Dana Williamson, who worked in his office from 2022 through late 2024 – was indicted on 23 counts of bank and wire fraud.
Federal prosecutors say she funneled $225,000 from a dormant campaign account and falsely claimed more than $1.7 million in fraudulent business expenses – including a $15,000 Chanel bag, a chartered jet, and a nearly $170,000 birthday trip to Mexico.
https://twitter.com/eclipsethis2003/status/2071228555149594751?s=20
When Newsom's office learned of the federal investigation into Williamson in late 2024, they moved her out.
His send-off message praised her "insight, tenacity, and big heart."
She walked out with a $50,000 payout for unused vacation time.
Tom Girardi – a high-profile attorney Newsom appointed to his Judicial Selection Advisory Committee in 2019 – was later convicted of four counts of wire fraud and sentenced to more than seven years in prison for embezzling tens of millions of dollars.
A senior city official who appeared alongside Newsom at campaign events was sentenced to four years in prison for bank fraud.
This is the man calling Trump corrupt.
What the Qatar Jet Story Actually Shows
The media won't tell you what the Qatar jet story actually shows.
Qatar gifted the U.S. a Boeing 747-8 – a plane valued at roughly $400 million – to serve as a temporary presidential transport while Boeing finishes two new custom aircraft that are years behind schedule.
Trump flew it to North Dakota for the opening of the Theodore Roosevelt Presidential Library, then took it to the NATO summit in Turkey.
When U.S.-Iran tensions reignited mid-trip, the Secret Service recommended Trump switch to the older Air Force One for part of the journey home – a precaution, not a crisis.
Trump flew the old plane to RAF Mildenhall, a U.S. Air Force base in England, where service members toured the new jet, then switched back for the final leg to Washington.
The New York Times published anonymously sourced stories about the security switch.
Trump was furious.
The DOJ subpoenaed four reporters to testify before a Manhattan grand jury about who leaked national security details to the press.
https://twitter.com/Jules31415/status/2065559996268761509?s=20
Newsom called it a "scandal."
Investigating leaks of national security information is not corruption.
Helping your chief of staff steal $1.7 million while signing her "big heart" farewell card is something else entirely.
The Pattern Nobody Is Talking About
Democrats have a playbook.
Find a headline that sounds bad for Trump, go on X with maximum outrage, and hope nobody looks at who's doing the talking.
Newsom has been running this play for years.
He's positioning himself as the anti-Trump – the resistance leader, the voice of accountability, the future of the Democrat Party.
And the media is happy to amplify every word.
What they won't tell you is that Trump's own Department of Justice called Newsom "the king of fraud" – on camera, on the record – and launched a federal task force specifically to investigate California under his watch.
They won't tell you his chief of staff was indicted on 23 counts while he was signing her glowing farewell message.
They won't tell you his state lost $180 billion on his watch.
The man calling Trump "the most corrupt president in American history" is himself the subject of an active federal corruption investigation.
Newsom is auditioning for 2028 while prosecutors have California under a microscope.
That's not a political comeback story.
That's a punchline.
Sources:
- Bill Essayli, "Federal Prosecutor Calls Newsom 'King of Fraud' as Trump Launches California Corruption Probe," Fox News, January 8, 2026.
- Steven Nelson, "Gavin Newsom's Circle of Corruption," City Journal, June 2026.
- Dan Walters, "Gavin Newsom's Empire of Fraud," City Journal, April 3, 2026.
- Laurel Rosenhall, "Gov. Gavin Newsom's Top Staffer Faces Public Corruption Charges," CalMatters, November 13, 2025.
- Jennifer Griffin, "Trump Administration Subpoenas NY Times Journalists," Fox News, July 11, 2026.
- Sara Dorn, "Trump Switches Back to Qatari Plane After Leaving Turkey on Old Air Force One," Forbes, July 8, 2026.
