Gavin Newsom says Donald Trump has ordered justice department to investigate him

{"text":[[{"start":11.45,"text":"California governor Gavin Newsom claimed Donald Trump had directed the US Department of Justice to investigate him, as tensions flared between the leader of America’s most populous state and the White House. "}],[{"start":24.25,"text":"In an extraordinary statement on X, Newsom said Trump had put him and his wife on a “hit list”, with the justice department pursuing him for political motives “because I am considering running for president”."}],[{"start":36.2,"text":"The Democratic governor, who is considered a top contender for the party’s presidential nomination in 2028, said in the post on Monday that the justice department “have not found a crime — they are simply trying to find one”."}],[{"start":48.800000000000004,"text":"A person familiar with the investigations said several probes had been under way for roughly a year, following reports by whistleblowers and local sources. "}],[{"start":57.050000000000004,"text":"The person added that one of the investigations was related to Newsom’s wife, Jennifer Siebel Newsom, and her tax affairs, while another was linked to his former chief of staff and may extend to current staff members. Federal prosecutors from the Eastern District of California are running the probes."}],[{"start":null,"text":"

"}],[{"start":null,"text":""}],[{"start":75,"text":"Newsom has become a figure of resistance against Trump, trolling him on social media by mirroring the president’s use of all-caps text and AI images."}],[{"start":84.45,"text":"The governor’s aides said he had joined an expanding list of political targets facing probes by the justice department under Trump, including Jay Powell, former chair of the Federal Reserve, and Letitia James, New York’s attorney-general. "}],[{"start":97.95,"text":"Newsom’s aides said federal agents had contacted individuals and groups connected to the governor and his wife and had subpoenaed records, conducted interviews and then expanded the probe “despite the absence of any credible evidence of an offence”. "}],[{"start":112.2,"text":"The aides did not publicly identify the individuals or groups that were contacted as part of the probe. “This is a fishing expedition, not a fact-based investigation,” one Newsom aide said. "}],[{"start":123.9,"text":"The governor’s former chief of staff, Dana Williamson, pleaded guilty last month in a federal public corruption case accusing her of diverting dormant campaign funds from Xavier Becerra, the former health secretary under Joe Biden, to Becerra’s aide. "}],[{"start":139.4,"text":"Newsom’s aides said Williamson’s case predated her service to him and was entirely unrelated to him."}],[{"start":145.8,"text":"The justice department declined to comment. "}],[{"start":148.95000000000002,"text":"Newsom, a former mayor of San Francisco, is in his second term as governor of California, which ends in January 2027 — ideal timing for him to launch a presidential campaign. "}],[{"start":161.8,"text":"According to the RealClearPolitics.com polling average, he is in second place in the race to be the Democratic nominee for the White House in 2028 after former vice-president Kamala Harris. "}],[{"start":172.9,"text":"Newsom’s accusation against Trump comes after the president successfully turned criminal probes against him to his advantage when he ran for a second White House term in 2024, casting himself as victim of political witch-hunts. "}],[{"start":186.45000000000002,"text":"Newsom made his statement following the primary contest in California to replace him as governor, with Becerra and Steve Hilton, a former UK Conservative political aide, winning slots to compete for the post in November. "}],[{"start":207.25000000000003,"text":""}]],"url":"https://audio.ftcn.net.cn/album/a_1781611344_4195.mp3"}