Sacramento’s political swamp just got murkier with the FBI dropping bombshell letters on dozens of insiders, revealing their private chats were scooped up in a corruption probe.
The LA Times reported that this sprawling federal investigation, centered on Dana Williamson, a former key aide to Governor Gavin Newsom, and two other Democratic operatives, has sent shockwaves through California’s elite with wiretapped communications and serious financial misconduct charges.
Let’s rewind to last year when Williamson, once Newsom’s chief of staff, was quietly placed on leave after tipping off the governor’s office about a federal inquiry looming over her head.
Fast forward to last week, and Williamson’s world imploded—she was arrested on federal charges for allegedly draining $225,000 from a dormant campaign account tied to 2026 gubernatorial hopeful Xavier Becerra.
The indictment, a hefty 23-count document, claims she conspired with Sean McCluskie, a former deputy in the California attorney general’s office, and lobbyist Greg Campbell to charge fake consulting fees while splurging $1 million on luxury goods and travel, fraudulently claimed as business expenses.
Williamson’s plea? Not guilty, naturally, though the feds seem to have her phone calls and texts as receipts, pointing to extensive wiretapping.
Meanwhile, the FBI started mailing out letters, signed by Sacramento Field Office Special Agent in Charge Siddhartha Patel, to a slew of political players from Sacramento to D.C., notifying them that their communications were intercepted between May and late July of this year.
A Newsom spokesperson confirmed a handful of current and former administration staff got these notices, though the governor himself dodged the mail drop.
These letters, mandated by the 1968 Federal Wiretap Act, aren’t accusations but courtesy heads-ups—yet they’ve got everyone sweating over what private strategies or client talks might leak.
Democratic consultant Steve Maviglio, who didn’t get a letter, captured the mood: “It sends a chill up your spine, and everybody is worried.” He added that folks can’t recall what they might’ve said, fearing this is just the “tip of the iceberg” (Sacramento Bee).
That paranoia isn’t baseless when you consider the indictment hints at ties to a controversial sex discrimination case involving a company matching the profile of Santa Monica’s Activision Blizzard Inc., probed by the state.
While Newsom’s office insists he’s not entangled in Williamson’s mess, and bigwigs like Assembly Speaker Robert Rivas and Senate President Pro Tem Monique Limon confirm they’re letter-free, the governor’s return from a U.N. climate summit in Brazil landed him in this hot mess.
Newsom, speaking to the Sacramento Bee, expressed “real surprise and shock” over Williamson’s arrest, while voicing concern for her four children.
Yet, let’s be real—while personal sympathy has its place, the bigger issue is whether California’s political machine, often cloaked in progressive virtue, is hiding more rot that wiretaps might expose.
If this probe, ongoing under the Biden administration but now eyed warily with Trump’s return, uncovers deeper misuse of power, it could be a wake-up call to drain some of Sacramento’s bureaucratic swamp.