FBI Embedded Wired Informant Inside Newsom’s Admin, Lawyer Says

A Democratic operative with deep ties to California Democratic Governor Gavin Newsom’s administration secretly recorded conversations for the FBI as part of a corruption investigation that has since expanded to scrutinize the governor, his wife, and members of his inner circle, The New York Post reported on Thursday.

Alexis Podesta, a power broker who has served in senior roles under both Newsom and former California Governor Jerry Brown, wore a wire to record conversations beginning as early as June 2024 while cooperating with federal investigators probing Newsom’s former chief of staff, Dana Williamson, Podesta’s lawyer revealed. Williamson pled guilty in May to conspiracy to commit bank and wire fraud, filing a false tax return, and lying to the FBI.

“According to court documents, between February 2022 and September 2024, Williamson conspired with Greg Campbell, 52, of Davis, Sean McCluskie, 57, of Davis, and others to steal approximately $225,000 in funds from a dormant political campaign and funnel it to McCluskie for his personal use. Collectively, they funneled the money through various business entities and disguised it as pay to McCluskie’s spouse for what was, in reality, a no-show job,” the DOJ stated.

Podesta, who has not been charged, has been identified by her attorney as the unnamed co-conspirator in Williamson’s case and has cooperated with prosecutors. Court records indicate she and Williamson discussed how to handle a public records request involving state litigation against a major corporate client.

The latest news is part of a broader federal inquiry that has drawn Newsom’s family finances into question. Newsom has publicly framed the expanding investigation as politically motivated retaliation by the Trump administration, saying, “They’re demanding records; they’re abusing the grand jury process, digging through years and years of random documents. Donald Trump isn’t just coming after me because of my mean tweets, he’s coming after me because I’m considering running for president.”

The federal probe into Newsom’s former chief of staff began under the Biden administration.

Financial records reviewed by the Post raise questions about the finances of The Representation Project, the gender-equity nonprofit founded by Siebel Newsom. The leftist project reported $1.24 million in revenue, while adding that it spent $1.75 million in expenses last year, The New York Post noted. The net assets for Siebel Newsom’s project plunged to just $44,853 from $553,081 since the start of the new fiscal year.

Siebel Newsom, meanwhile, raked in a $161,250 salary for the fiscal year ending in March 2025, The Representation Project reported. That salary came despite the nonprofit’s financial struggles and despite several of her films failing to gain traction with critics or audiences.

Separately, earlier reporting by the Post found that Newsom “helped funnel more than $4.4 million from special interests and wealthy individuals to California Partners Project, one of Siebel Newsom’s pet projects.”