Copyright The New York Times
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 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 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. “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.” “At a time when the president is openly calling for his attorney general to investigate his political enemies, it is especially important to honor the American principle of being innocent until proven guilty in a court of law by a jury of one’s peers,” Mr. Gardon added. The campaign fund transfers, prosecutors said, enriched Sean McCluskie, the longtime chief of staff for Mr. Becerra, who was California attorney general from 2017 to 2021. In a plea agreement, Mr. McCluskie said that he had taken a pay cut when he went to Washington to work for Mr. Becerra at the Department of Health and Human Services, and that his salary was not covering his expenses, but that he was generally prohibited by government ethics rules from receiving outside income. In early 2022, the plea agreement said, Mr. McCluskie met with Ms. Williamson, who was then in private practice, and agreed to a plan in which they would charge Mr. Becerra’s dormant campaign account $7,500 per month as a fee for managing the money, and then funnel it through Ms. Williamson’s consulting business and Mr. Campbell’s public affairs firm to Mr. McCluskie’s wife. Later that year, as Ms. Williamson was preparing to transition into a public sector job in the Newsom administration, she met with Mr. McCluskie and told him she could no longer continue their arrangement, but that she had found a new public affairs consultant to take over for her, the plea agreement said. Mr. McCluskie agreed in October to plead guilty to one count of conspiracy to commit bank fraud and wire fraud; Mr. Campbell agreed earlier this month to plead guilty to the same crime, as well as conspiracy to defraud the United States. The indictment, which was first reported by The Sacramento Bee, describes Ms. Williamson and Mr. McCluskie as misleading Mr. Becerra about aspects of their plans to use his campaign funds. It also accuses Ms. Williamson of filing false tax returns claiming more than $1 million in business deductions for expenditures such as Fendi and Chanel handbags, home improvements including a new HVAC system, a luxury hotel stay for Ms. Williamson’s birthday, and a $10,000 cash gift to a relative. Mr. Becerra, who was not charged with any crimes and is running in the 2026 race for California governor, expressed dismay at the developments. “The news today of formal accusations of impropriety by a long-serving trusted adviser are a gut punch,” Mr. Becerra said about Mr. McCluskie, in a statement. “I have voluntarily cooperated with the U.S. Department of Justice in their investigation, and will continue to do so. As California’s former attorney general, I fully comprehend the importance of allowing this investigation and legal process to run its course through our justice system.” Ms. Williamson served for about two years in the Newsom administration before she left in November 2024. She previously served in the Democratic administrations of the former governors Jerry Brown and Gray Davis. A Newsom administration official, who did not want to be named because the official was not authorized to talk about the investigation, said that Ms. Williamson was placed on leave last year after she informed the office that she was interviewed by federal investigators and was under criminal investigation. Ms. Williamson appeared in handcuffs in federal court in Sacramento on Wednesday afternoon, with glasses perched on her nose and her brown hair swept into a bun. She listened solemnly as Judge Carolyn Delaney read the charges against her, and as her lawyer entered a not-guilty plea on her behalf. Ms. Williamson briefly turned around to look at the reporters sitting in the back of the courtroom. At one point, she raised her cuffed hand awkwardly to wipe a tear from her eye. She faces up to 20 years in prison and a $250,000 fine for each count of bank fraud, wire fraud, and conspiracy to commit bank and wire fraud. She faces less time for other counts, such as conspiracy to obstruct and making false statements. Matthew Rowan, Ms. Williamson’s attorney, argued that she should not be held in jail before trial because she had no criminal history and was facing health problems. Prosecutors said they had produced more than 27,000 pages of discovery and 752 gigabytes of iCloud data that would be part of their case. The next court date was set for Dec. 11. Mr. Rowan declined to speak with reporters at the courtroom. Seamus Hughes contributed reporting.
