Gov. Gavin Newsom (D-CA) has hired veteran Washington defense lawyer Abbe Lowell as federal investigators examine people and matters in the governor’s orbit, according to a new report.
Newsom and his wife, Jennifer Siebel Newsom, hired Lowell in their personal capacities, according to people familiar with the decision, Politico reported. The sources were granted anonymity because they were not authorized to discuss the matter publicly. A spokesperson for Newsom declined to comment, and Lowell’s office did not respond to a request for comment.
Lowell is one of the country’s most prominent white-collar defense attorneys and has represented a string of high-profile political figures, making his involvement a notable development as the Justice Department’s inquiry intensifies. His recent clients include Hunter Biden, New York Attorney General Letitia James, and Federal Reserve governor Lisa Cook, all figures who have encountered scrutiny from the Trump administration.
Newsom has repeatedly portrayed the investigation involving him and his wife as politically motivated, arguing it follows a pattern of behavior by President Donald Trump of using the federal government against supposed rivals, as the California governor weighs a 2028 White House campaign.
Acting Attorney General Todd Blanche has rejected Newsom’s allegations of political retaliation. “I’m not sure his words are in any way grounded in fact,” Blanche told reporters earlier this month.
According to a person familiar with the investigation, the inquiry began in California and has examined the governor’s former chief of staff, who pleaded guilty to federal corruption charges earlier this year, as well as Siebel Newsom’s finances. No charges have been announced in the current investigation.
Gavin Newsom’s administration has characterized the federal effort as an expansive fishing expedition, saying investigators have subpoenaed or interviewed multiple people connected to the governor and the first partner while seeking a range of business records.
After announcing last month that federal authorities were scrutinizing both him and his wife, Newsom quickly tied the matter to his national ambitions, declaring that Trump was “coming after me because I’m considering running for president.”
The episode gave a glimpse into a strategy Newsom has increasingly embraced as he prepares for a 2028 White House bid: portraying himself as Trump’s chief antagonist and a leader of the Democratic resistance. Rather than downplaying the controversy, Newsom has sought to frame it as political retaliation by a president targeting a potential rival.
“Gavin Newsom’s statement, whether true or not, keeps him at the top of every Democrat’s mind for a presidential candidate in 2028,” California-based political strategist Matt Klink told the Washington Examiner. “It’s always helpful for a Democrat to claim that the evil Trump is investigating you.”
Klink said that Newsom’s announcement that he was under investigation was “atypical, but it does keep him at the top of the news cycle. I’m sure if he is indicted, the impartial American justice system will presume his innocence, and he will get his day in court.”
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Lauren Horwood, public information officer for the U.S. Attorney’s Office for the Eastern District of California, told the Washington Examiner that “as a matter of policy, our office does not confirm or deny the existence of investigations.”
Newsom has spent years building a national profile through public clashes with Trump and other Republicans on topics ranging from immigration and environmental policy battles to recent media appearances and podcast interviews. His response to the investigation appears to reflect a larger effort to remain in the national spotlight after leaving the governor’s office while building a narrative that he is suffering retaliation from Trump.