We've learned quite a few details in the day since Gavin Newsom's chief of staff, Dana Williamson, was charged with 23 federal felonies in a public corruption scheme.
According to the indictment, Williamson and multiple co-conspirators, including then-HHS Secretary Xavier Becerra's chief of staff Sean McCluskie, schemed "to divert approximately $225,000 in funds from a dormant political campaign to an associate’s personal use."
But there's a lot more to Williamson's indictment. Let's break it down.
Tax Fraud
When the original story hit, a common reaction was, "Why would she risk everything to essentially embezzle $225,000 for a friend?" Well, Williamson was also charged with tax fraud related to her 2021, 2022, and 2023 tax returns. Prosecutors allege that she underreported her income by a total of $1,718,277 "in false business deductions reported on Company A's U.S. Income Tax Return...for what were in reality Williamson's personal expenditures."
What were those expenditures? The indictment lists a sampling.
In 2021, she allegedly claimed $160,201 in false business deductions:
- $15,353 Chanel handbag and ring
- $5,818 Fendi handbag and wallet
- $19,498 HVAC system at WILLIAMSON's personal residence
- $10,000 payment to one of WILLIAMSON'S relatives
- $9,589 watch for a close friend
- $6,324 couch for WILLIAMSON's personal residence
- $21,175 private jet charter
- $15,662 luxury hotel stay for Williamson
In 2022, she allegedly claimed a total of $861,033 in false business deductions, including:
- $156,302 for a luxury hotel stay and activities in Mexico to celebrate WILLIAMSON's 50th birthday
- $11,100 yacht rental in Mexico
- $4,037 for a second luxury hotel stay in Mexico
- $12,437 for Chanel earrings and a shopping bag
- $35,550 to a family law attorney
- $7,712 for a Gucci bag and wallet
- $10,620 for a trip to a California theme park
- $100,000 as purported salary for Co-Conspirator 5's no-show job
- $4,083 for a moving company
In 2023, while working full-time for the governor's office and being prohibited from engaging in any type of lobbying work, she allegedly deducted $697,043 in false business deductions.
- $105,769 to a relative for purported work at a no-show job
- $118,154 to a second relative for purported work at a no-show job.
Who are these relatives? What were they getting paid to allegedly do? How did Williamson get the funds to pay them? Given the lack of further details on the other $450,000 or so, in my opinion, the feds are holding some information back as they continue investigating.
PPP Fraud
Williamson is also charged with fraudulently obtaining $300,000 in Paycheck Protection Plan (PPP) loans for her lobbying business, Grace Public Affairs. Under the terms of the CARES Act, PPP loans could not be used for lobbying or for "expenditures designed to influence the enactment of legislation, appropriations, regulation, administrative action, or Executive order proposed or pending before Congress or any State government, State legislature, or local legislature or legislative body." Yet Williamson applied for and received those loans, then scrambled to create backdated contracts once federal investigators requested backup information in September 2023.
Target: Newsom?
Williamson's attorney, McGregor Scott, told the Los Angeles Times that federal law enforcement approached Williamson more than a year ago and asked for her help with a probe into Newsom, but "She told them she had no information to provide them, and then we wind up today with these charges," implying that the charges were retaliatory. The Times also reported:
A second source with knowledge of the case who was not authorized to speak publicly said federal investigators tried to pressure Williamson into implicating Newsom, but that Williamson told them she had no knowledge of any wrongdoing by the governor and that she refused to cooperate.
The PG&E Connection
When Williamson started her position in Newsom's administration, she transferred her clients - including Becerra - to another lobbyist/public relations consultant who's identified in the indictment as Co-Conspirator 2. RedState first identified that person as Alexis Podesta (no relation to the Washington, DC Podestas), who has worked for Sen. Dianne Feinstein and Gov. Jerry Brown.
It looks like Co-Conspirator 2 in the Williamson complaint is Alexis Podesta, who served as Secretary of CA's Business, Consumer Services and Housing Agency under Gov. Jerry Brown and Gavin Newsom. In 2020 Newsom appointed her to the State Compensation Insurance Fund Board of… pic.twitter.com/rQXkQubq8l
— Jennifer Van Laar (@jenvanlaar) November 12, 2025
Why would Podesta take such a risk? One big reason is that Democrats in California are so used to experiencing zero consequences for corruption that the reward outweighs the risk for many.
But there's another reason - these two have been tightly linked for a very long time. Podesta and Williamson worked together at PG&E (yes, that PG&E) from 2009-11, when Williamson was Director of Public Affairs and Podesta was Special Assistant to one of Williamson's close friends, Nancy McFadden. The trio then joined Jerry Brown's administration in January 2011 and worked together there for years. Williamson and Podesta (and co-defendant Greg Campbell) also essentially control the Collaborative Company, which is referenced in the indictment as Company C. The San Luis Obispo Tribune described the Collaborative Company as "a hub of lobbyists and consultants with ties to Newsom and other high-profile Democrats." According to a 2022 archive of the group's website, Williamson and Campbell were founding members, and Podesta was the Managing Member.
Williamson's Health Issues
After Williamson's arrest, her attorney said she has severe health issues and was recently put on the waiting list for a liver transplant (there have been concerns throughout Sacramento political circles for years about the 53-year-old's heavy drinking, so this is not surprising). Given that, he believes that the feds shouldn't have descended upon her home and arrested her without warning:
“In my experience, an arrest warrant is only issued for people who have committed violent crimes or are a flight risk. There was absolutely no reason for them to not contact me, let me know of the indictment and allow me to make arrangements to surrender herself."
Mafia Boss Style
Democrats are usually so good at presenting a united front and defending one of their own, even when they do the most heinous things. That's not the case with Williamson. Lefty journalist Gil Duran appeared on CNN's The Story Is with Elex Michaelson on Wednesday night and described Williamson as operating "like a mafia boss."
“This was how she operated. Like a mafia boss. And now she is being treated like a mafia boss.”@gilduran76 shares what it was like to work with Dana Williamson, former top aide to California Gov. Gavin Newsom. Williamson has been indicted on federal charges. @Elex_Michaelson pic.twitter.com/sRahhUQQUI
— The Story Is (@CNNTheStoryIs) November 13, 2025
Duran said, in part:
Well, Dana has a reputation for being reckless, for being irresponsible, and for being a bully. She was somebody who loved power and loved to abuse power.
On a personal level, years ago I was offered a job, and Dana called my prospective employer and told them that if they hired me, they would be dead to the Governor's office. I got that job anyway, but this was how she operated, like a mafia boss, and now she is being treated like a mafia boss.
And while Team Newsom is distancing from Williamson, Duran says that her issues were well-known for years and that Newsom never should have given her that much power.
I would say that Gov. Newsom, Gov. Brown, and Xavier Becerra should be ashamed of their terrible lapse of judgment here. The only reason Dana Williamson acted the way she did for so many years and was led to this situation was that she felt she could act with impunity, and she felt she could act with impunity because of the power she was given, despite the very obvious problems with her behavior that were apparent for years. And so I think there's gonna have to be a lot of soul-searching in Sacramento.
Some Publicity Is Bad
It's possible that an April 2024 Politico article about Becerra's gubernatorial hopes kicked off additional examination of Williamson's finances. California political insiders were whispering about Becerra's plans, with Politico reporting that "Becerra or his emissaries have approached political firms about standing up a gubernatorial campaign," activity that's prohibited by the Hatch Act. They also found the fraudulent payments:
"Becerra, a former longtime member of Congress from Los Angeles and California attorney general, also has spent more than $130,000 over the last year for 'campaign consultants,' activity that has not previously been reported in the media. The political outreach and payments have occurred even as Becerra has continued to state publicly that he’s solely focused on his Cabinet job in Washington."
At that time, Becerra's campaign finance reports mistakenly listed the payee as The Podesta Group, which is the illustrious Washington, DC firm operated by John and Tony Podesta, instead of Podesta Company.
Regardless of which consulting firm was being paid, Becerra's reported activities and expenditures violate the Hatch Act, according to an expert Politico spoke to. Delaney Marsco, director of ethics at the Campaign Legal Center, said: “Those types of preliminary activities are considered to be part and parcel of a candidacy for political office." She also told the outlet that paying $10,000 a month to Podesta "would be a very high cost to pay for an administrative, keeping the account open type of thing.”
Interference in Activision Lawsuit
Williamson is charged with making multiple false statements to FBI investigators, one of which is that while she served in state government, she never shared inside information with members of the Collaborative Company. She allegedly discussed a controversial lawsuit between the state and Activision with Podesta on numerous occasions.
Activision was her client, and when Williamson joined Newsom's office, she gave the account to Podesta - but she fed Podesta info about the state's moves. She also orchestrated a settlement and had the state's Chief Counsel fired after counsel objected to the governor's interference.
This part of the Williamson indictment seems to be related to CA's litigation against Activision and her interference in that suit + retaliation against those who stood in her way.
— Jennifer Van Laar (@jenvanlaar) November 13, 2025
Activision was her client, and when she joined Newsom's office she gave the acct to Alexis Podesta… pic.twitter.com/6JXyMGUrlr
Williamson had learned that someone was submitting California Public Records Act requests seeking documents related to the suit, and she was none too happy. The partial transcript of the conversation about that is the perfect representation of the attitude of California Democrats toward transparency and toward everyday Californians.
Then Williamson shared the name of the requester and Podesta again said, "F*** her," adding, "They don't really know who they are messing with. pic.twitter.com/8IfxYHGbNm
— Jennifer Van Laar (@jenvanlaar) November 13, 2025
It shouldn't be surprising that Williamson was also the architect of the fast food minimum wage deal that exempted Newsom's friend's company, Panera Bread, and required that participants in negotiations sign non-disclosure agreements.
DIVE DEEPER: Dems in CA Assembly Say Gavin Newsom Has Every Right to Play Hide the Sausage Behind an NDA
As of the time of publication, Newsom hasn't personally commented on the matter.
RedState is continuing to develop information about Williamson's activities and expenditures, and we'll publish additional installments of this series as that information is confirmed.
Editor’s Note: Help us continue to report the truth about corrupt politicians like Gavin Newsom and Xavier Becerra.
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