Overview
- Gov. Gavin Newsom confirmed Tuesday that he and his wife retained Washington defense attorney Abbe Lowell to represent them personally as federal investigations proceed.
- Reporting shows the Justice Department work is being handled by the U.S. Attorney’s Office in Sacramento and includes at least one inquiry into the taxes and finances of nonprofits linked to Jennifer Siebel Newsom.
- Newsom has said neither he nor his wife have been contacted by investigators or subpoenaed and no criminal charges have been made public against either of them.
- Abbe Lowell is a veteran white‑collar lawyer who has represented high‑profile political figures including Hunter Biden and New York Attorney General Letitia James, which underlines the seriousness of Newsom’s legal response.
- Newsom has publicly called the probes politically motivated, a stance that has already fed fundraising and political messaging, and the earlier guilty plea by his former chief of staff remains a separate federal matter that has intensified scrutiny.