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U.S.|Former Aide to Gavin Newsom Charged With Corruption
https://www.nytimes.com/2025/11/12/us/newsom-aide-corruption-charges.html
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Dana Williamson, a top Democratic consultant in California, was accused of conspiring to skim over $200,000 in campaign funds that belonged to a Biden administration official.
Nov. 12, 2025Updated 8:04 p.m. ET
A former chief of staff to Gov. Gavin Newsom of California has been charged with conspiring to skim $225,000 from a dormant campaign fund that belonged to a top Biden administration official.
The former aide, Dana Williamson, 53, was charged by a federal grand jury with 23 counts, including conspiracy to commit bank and wire fraud, bank fraud, conspiracy to defraud the United States and obstruct justice, according to an indictment that was unsealed on Wednesday. She was also accused of illegally writing off $1 million in vacations, luxury purses and private jet travel as business expenses on her federal income tax returns.
Ms. Williamson, a Democratic political consultant, pleaded not guilty during a brief hearing on Wednesday in Sacramento and was ordered to be released on a $500,000 bond.
Eric Grant, who was named the U.S. attorney for the Eastern District of California in August, said the Wednesday arrest stemmed from an ongoing political corruption investigation that began more than three years ago, when President Joseph R. Biden Jr. was in office. It involves a campaign fund that belonged to Xavier Becerra, a former California attorney general who served as the health and human services secretary under Mr. Biden.
Ms. Williamson is well known in California political circles as a fierce power broker with ties to top Democratic officials and deep experience on policy matters. She served in high-ranking positions for two governors, ran Mr. Becerra’s 2018 campaign for attorney general, and was known at the State Capitol as an effective deal-maker who could bring peace among warring factions. She served for about two years in the Newsom administration before she left in November 2024.
“Ms. Williamson no longer serves in this administration,” Izzy Gardon, a spokesman for Governor Newsom, said on Wednesday. “While we are still learning details of the allegations, the governor expects all public servants to uphold the highest standards of integrity.”
