Newsom Hires Hunter Biden's Former Lawyer as Federal Probe Involving His Wife Continues

California Gov. Gavin Newsom confirmed Tuesday, during an unrelated Sacramento news conference, that he and his wife Jennifer Siebel Newsom have hired Abbe Lowell, a Washington defense attorney best known for representing Hunter Biden, according to CBS News Sacramento.

Lowell's client list also includes New York Attorney General Letitia James, Federal Reserve Governor Lisa Cook, Trump son-in-law Jared Kushner, and ex-Sen. Bob Menendez. Politico first reported the hiring, according to the Washington Examiner, with sources saying the Newsoms retained Lowell in their personal capacities.

Newsom said Tuesday that neither he nor his wife has been subpoenaed or directly contacted by federal investigators, CBS News reported. That detail matters. The hire is a defensive, preemptive move rather than a response to a formal charge or subpoena.

What's actually being investigated

The scrutiny traces back to at least two separate matters handled by the U.S. Attorney's Office for the Eastern District of California, according to CalMatters, both reportedly originating with whistleblowers.

One involves Jennifer Siebel Newsom's taxes and financial arrangements tied to her nonprofit and filmmaking work, according to the Associated Press and the Washington Examiner. The other centers on Dana Williamson, Newsom's former chief of staff, who pleaded guilty earlier this year in a separate federal fraud case that prosecutors say began during the Biden administration, per CBS News and Fox News.

A source familiar with the matter told CBS News Sacramento that at least one of the probes has been ongoing for roughly a year. No criminal charges have been filed against the governor or his wife.

Newsom's framing versus the record

Newsom has called the investigation a "fishing expedition" and argued it's politically motivated, tying it directly to his own national ambitions. After announcing last month that federal authorities were scrutinizing him and his wife, Newsom said Trump was "coming after me because I'm considering running for president," according to the Washington Examiner.

If a sitting president's Justice Department is investigating a chief political rival's family finances without public evidence of wrongdoing, that raises legitimate questions about whether law enforcement is being used as a political weapon. Newsom isn't inventing the fact that Lowell's recent client roster reads like a list of Trump antagonists: Cook, James, former DHS official Miles Taylor and whistleblower attorney Mark Zaid, according to Fox News.

But the administration disputes the premise entirely. Deputy Attorney General Todd Blanche rejected Newsom's political-retaliation claims outright. "I'm not sure his words are in any way grounded in fact," Blanche told reporters, according to the Washington Examiner.

The timeline complicates Newsom's narrative somewhat. Both threads reportedly originated in Sacramento with whistleblowers, and one stems from the Williamson fraud case that prosecutors say began during the Biden administration, not the Trump administration, according to Fox News and CBS News. That doesn't rule out later political direction, but it means the investigation didn't start as a Trump-era creation aimed at a 2028 rival. Whether it has since been steered or expanded for political reasons is not established in any of these reports, which describe the connection to the Williamson case rather than proving intent one way or the other.

What blabber.buzz added, and what to weigh carefully

A report from blabber.buzz, citing RedState, claimed Newsom's public complaints about investigators questioning "friends, family, and former employees" omitted that some of those people are financially intertwined with his business operations, naming his sister, who runs the Plumpjack wine and hospitality business, and a friend's wife who manages his blind trust. That's a specific, checkable claim about who's actually being contacted. It has not been independently verified here beyond that single account, and no outlet has confirmed exactly who investigators have interviewed.

The same report floated speculation, explicitly labeled as speculation, that Hunter Biden may have personally recommended Lowell to Newsom after appearing on Newsom's podcast. That is unconfirmed and should be treated as speculation, not fact.

The unresolved question

No charges exist. No subpoenas have reportedly landed on the Newsoms themselves. The investigation into Siebel Newsom's finances and the fallout from Williamson's guilty plea continue under the U.S. Attorney's Office in Sacramento, with Lowell now representing the governor and his wife.

Whether that investigation produces charges, closes quietly, or becomes a 2028 campaign flashpoint depends on developments neither side has control over: what federal prosecutors in Sacramento actually find, and whether the Justice Department under Blanche makes any of it public before Newsom decides whether to run.