The FBI had a cooperating insider inside Gov. Gavin Newsom’s political orbit before its corruption probe widened into the governor and his wife. According to Dana Williamson’s lawyer, the insider was Alexis Podesta, who secretly recorded conversations during the federal investigation.
The disclosure helps explain why Sacramento political figures and lobbyists received FBI letters last fall saying their phone calls had been intercepted, even when some had little or no apparent connection to Williamson. One Assembly member who got a notice said the breadth of the sweep raised more questions than answers.
How the wiretap widened the investigation
McGregor Scott, Williamson’s attorney and a former US attorney for the Eastern District of California, said plainly that “Alexis wore a wire, and Dana did not.” He said Podesta had been cooperating with federal investigators while Williamson did not wear a wire herself.
A separate source familiar with the matter said four Sacramento insiders also received FBI notifications confirming they had been recorded. One recipient reportedly reacted with disbelief after receiving a letter saying they had never even met with Williamson.
| Person | Role | Key detail in the article |
|---|---|---|
| Alexis Podesta | Democratic insider; state board member | Secretly recorded conversations and cooperated with federal investigators |
| Dana Williamson | Former Newsom chief of staff | Pleaded guilty to federal fraud and tax charges in May |
| Gavin Newsom | Governor of California | Now facing a separate federal investigation involving him, his wife, and members of his inner circle |
Newsom, his wife, and the political fallout
Newsom said last month that he, his wife, and members of his inner circle were under federal investigation. Within hours, he sent out a fundraising email for a political action committee, even as he accused President Trump of using the Justice Department for political retaliation.
Sources familiar with the matter said federal investigators have spent the past year digging into Newsom, his staff, and his wife’s taxes. Siebel Newsom has accused Trump of having “no boundaries,” while Trump has previously called for Newsom’s arrest.
Podesta’s role and state ties
Podesta remains on California’s State Compensation Insurance Fund board and is paid nearly $61,000 a year. Newsom appointed her in January 2020, and she has also held senior roles in state government, including service under Gov. Jerry Brown.
Her attorney, Bill Portanova, has identified her as the uncharged co-conspirator described in Williamson’s indictment and said she has cooperated with federal investigators. Podesta herself has not been charged, and neither she nor her attorney responded to requests for comment.
Why Williamson’s guilty plea matters
Williamson pleaded guilty in May to conspiracy to commit bank and wire fraud, filing a false tax return, and making false statements to the FBI. Prosecutors said she and others helped siphon roughly $225,000 from a dormant campaign account tied to former Health and Human Services Secretary Xavier Becerra.
According to federal filings, Williamson disguised payments as consulting fees while routing money to benefit Becerra’s former chief of staff, Sean McCluskie. Campaign finance records also show Becerra’s committee paid Podesta Company mostly in $10,000 monthly installments during 2023 and 2024.
Williamson’s plea agreement says that while she was serving as Newsom’s chief of staff, she shared confidential state government information with a co-conspirator identified by reporting as Podesta. The agreement also says she was captured in a June 2024 wiretap discussing how to respond to a Public Records Act request involving the state’s litigation against Activision Blizzard.
Williamson’s case is still moving through the courts ahead of her sentencing hearing, and a spokesperson for the US attorney’s office declined to comment. For Sacramento’s political class, the bigger impact may be the growing sense that the probe has reached far beyond one former chief of staff.