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Law & Justice · North America

Newsom says DOJ inquiry will not deter possible 2028 presidential run

Gavin Newsom said in Nashua, New Hampshire, that the Justice Department inquiry involving him and his wife would not deter a possible 2028 presidential bid. He said it had strengthened his resolve and accused Donald Trump of pursuing investigations against them.

AI-assisted synthesis · Based on 3 outlets' reporting · Article text read from 1 of 3 outletsHow it's made

View timeline · 11 entries
3 outletsLatest reporting 3 min read
Coverage: Mostly CenterL 0 · C 2 · R 1
File photo
Photo: Charles Ommanney – Office of the Governor of California / Wikimedia Commons (Public domain)

What happened

Key facts

  • Gavin Newsom said the Justice Department inquiry involving him and his wife would not make him less likely to run for president in 2028.
  • At a campaign event in Nashua, New Hampshire, Newsom said the inquiry made him more resilient.
  • The article says little is publicly known about the inquiry; the Justice Department appears to be examining the couple’s taxes and ties to certain nonprofits.
  • Newsom told Politico that Donald Trump had called for his arrest and had pursued investigations against him and his wife.

The brief

Gavin Newsom said a Justice Department inquiry involving him and his wife would not make him less likely to seek the presidency in 2028. At a campaign event in Nashua, New Hampshire, he characterized the inquiry as “inconsequential” to his decision-making, according to the Washington Examiner. Newsom also said the scrutiny had made him more resilient.

The remarks came as Newsom was drawing attention to his possible 2028 ambitions. The Washington Examiner reported that he appeared at a field office in Nashua on Saturday to campaign for Democratic candidates, including Senate nominee Chris Pappas. The article did not identify a decision by Newsom to run; it described the presidential bid as a possibility.

The inquiry’s scope remains only partly described in the Washington Examiner’s account. The outlet said little was publicly known, and that the Justice Department appeared to be examining the couple’s taxes and connections to certain nonprofits.

ABC News’s headline likewise characterized the matter as a Justice Department investigation of Newsom and his wife, but did not specify its subject or scope. Newsom connected his comments about the inquiry to his view of the Trump administration.

The Washington Examiner quoted him saying the matter gave him a deeper understanding of what he called the “weaponization” of government, including the Justice Department, FBI and IRS. That was Newsom’s characterization; the article did not establish that those agencies had acted improperly.

Newsom also told Politico that Donald Trump had called for his arrest and pursued investigations involving Newsom and his wife. The Washington Examiner quoted Newsom saying, “Now he’s going after my wife because he can’t find anything on me,” and separately reported his criticism of Trump’s character.

These are Newsom’s claims and assessments, rather than findings established by the article. The account leaves Newsom’s political position at the level of stated intention: he said the inquiry would not reduce his likelihood of running, while describing it as inconsequential to his decision.

The inquiry itself remains described in limited terms, with the outlet saying the Justice Department appeared to be examining tax matters and nonprofit ties. Newsom’s remarks did not amount to an announcement of a 2028 campaign.

Why it matters

  • Newsom’s stated position is that the inquiry will not make him less likely to seek the presidency in 2028, keeping a possible campaign in view without constituting an announcement.
  • The Washington Examiner described a potential examination of Newsom and his wife’s taxes and nonprofit ties, but said little about the inquiry was publicly known.
  • Newsom’s comments put the Justice Department inquiry and his criticism of Donald Trump into the same discussion of his possible presidential ambitions.

What to watch next

  • Whether Newsom announces a decision about running for president in 2028.
  • Whether the Justice Department’s examination of the couple’s taxes and nonprofit ties becomes more clearly defined.
  • Whether Newsom repeats or develops his claims about Trump calling for his arrest and pursuing investigations involving him and his wife.

How it's being covered

Coverage analysisShow details
3 source articles · 3 unique outlets
Outlet political mix: Mostly Center· 2 Center · 1 Right
Where the outlets are based: US/Canada 100%
Outlet political mix
Mostly Center
Left
Center
Right
0 outlets
2 outlets
1 outlet
The marker shows coverage balance: each unique outlet counts once.
Geography
Where the outlets covering this story are based.
3 unique outletsDominant coverage: US/Canada
Coverage imbalance
  • Coverage is currently concentrated among outlets based in US/Canada (3 of 3 geographically-identified sources).
How we measure coverage

How outlets' accounts compare

Updat3 does not yet have enough full reports to compare how outlets framed this story.

Timeline

Developments from this story's sources, dated background we compiled and fact-checked, and our earlier coverage. Each row says which.
  1. The department was created by the Act to Establish the Department of Justice, signed by President Ulysses S. Grant on June 22, 1870.
    Background · from our historical context
  2. Gavin Newsom was elected governor of California.
    Background · compiled and fact-checked by Updat3
  3. Gavin Newsom was sworn in as governor of California.
    Background · compiled and fact-checked by Updat3
  4. In 2020, the department’s Justice Manual also stated that criminal investigations must not be conducted to influence elections or provide an advantage to a political candidate.
    Background · from our historical context
  5. In 2020, Trump and Newsom publicly disputed California’s pandemic restrictions and the state’s handling of the coronavirus emergency.
    Background · from our historical context
  6. Gavin Newsom was reelected governor of California.
    Background · compiled and fact-checked by Updat3
  7. Gavin Newsom said he would not seek the Democratic presidential nomination while Joe Biden was running.
    Background · compiled and fact-checked by Updat3
  8. Gavin Newsom debated Florida Governor Ron DeSantis in a televised event.
    Background · compiled and fact-checked by Updat3
  9. Gavin Newsom endorsed Kamala Harris after Joe Biden left the presidential race.
    Background · compiled and fact-checked by Updat3
  10. Donald Trump and J.D. Vance won the presidential election.
    Background · compiled and fact-checked by Updat3
  11. Donald Trump was inaugurated for a second, non-consecutive term as U.S. president.
    Background · compiled and fact-checked by Updat3

How we got here

In November 2023, Gavin Newsom said he was not seeking the Democratic presidential nomination while Joe Biden was running, after Newsom had faced Florida Governor Ron DeSantis in a televised debate on November 30, 2023.

Newsom endorsed Biden’s reelection campaign in 2024 and later supported Kamala Harris after Biden left the race; those episodes gave him a national political profile before the 2028 cycle. Under California’s constitution, a governor may serve two terms, and Newsom, elected in 2018 and reelected in 2022, could not seek a third consecutive term in 2026.

Original sources

3 articles from 3 outlets

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