If you ever wanted to know what it looks like when a political machine starts eating itself, look no further than Sacramento, where it turns out the FBI had a cooperating witness wired up inside Gavin Newsom's orbit for over a year. As USA Journal reported, the person wearing the wire was Alexis Podesta, a longtime Democratic operative, former aide to Dianne Feinstein, and a Newsom appointee. She was secretly recording conversations with Dana Williamson, Newsom's former chief of staff, who pleaded guilty to federal fraud and tax charges in May.
Williamson stands accused of diverting roughly $225,000 from then-HHS Secretary Xavier Becerra's dormant campaign account. Podesta was named as co-conspirator 2 in the indictment but was never charged. Williamson's own attorney explained the discrepancy with a line so clean it belongs in a movie: "Alexis wore a wire, and Dana did not." That is what we in the business call a very bad day for Dana.
The New York Post reported that Podesta was recording as far back as June 2024, which explains why a whole bunch of Sacramento lobbyists and political insiders received FBI letters last fall informing them their phone calls had been intercepted. Many of them had little or no connection to Williamson, which means they were just collateral catch in what Republican Assemblymember Josh Hoover described as a very wide net cast across the Capitol community.
That net is apparently still in the water, and there are a lot of people in Sacramento who suddenly remember every phone call they have made in the last two years.
The details are genuinely wild. Williamson allegedly fed Podesta sensitive inside information about an ongoing state lawsuit against Activision. She then reportedly lied to federal investigators about it. She also allegedly orchestrated a settlement in that case and had the state's own Chief Counsel fired when that attorney objected to what the indictment describes as Newsom's interference. Getting fired for doing your job correctly is a special kind of Sacramento tradition.
Then there is the background that ties all of this together. Podesta, Williamson, and their network all trace back to PG&E. Yes, the same PG&E whose equipment sparked wildfires that killed people and leveled entire communities. They worked there together before cycling through Jerry Brown's administration and eventually landing in Newsom's world. It is the circle of life, if the circle of life involved lobbying contracts and dormant campaign accounts.
Newsom announced last month that he, his wife (whose nonprofit has reportedly been burning through money in recent years), and members of his inner circle are all under federal investigation. Meanwhile, he is still out there campaigning for 2028 like a guy whose house is on fire but who really needs to finish mowing the lawn.
You can run from a lot of things in politics. Opposition research, bad poll numbers, unflattering photos at a French Laundry dinner. But you cannot run from a federal wiretap. Transcripts do not care about your hair or your messaging strategy. The only real question now is how far up the chain this investigation climbs, and whether Newsom has already started interviewing attorneys. Based on the trajectory, he might want to hire a few.
Read more conservative news commentary at: USA Journal News
