Dana Williamson, a former top aide to California Gov. Gavin Newsom, pleaded guilty in federal court Thursday in a corruption case where she and others were accused of siphoning funds from a dormant campaign account for Xavier Becerra.
“These conspirators, three of whom are former public officials, shockingly looted campaign funds for personal benefit,” U.S. Attorney Eric Grant said, according to a press release.
Williamson was initially charged with 23 counts in November, and admitted to three in the plea agreement: conspiracy to commit bank fraud and wire fraud, subscribing to a false tax return, and making false statements. Court documents describe Williamson as the mastermind behind a scheme to divert $225,000 from a defunct state campaign for Becerra to accounts under her control from February 2022 to September 2024.
At the time of the embezzlement plot, Becerra was secretary of the Department of Health and Human Services under President Joe Biden. He is now running for California governor, and has served as the state’s attorney general, as well as stints in the state legislature and U.S. House of Representatives.
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Becerra has not been implicated in any wrongdoing, but his opponents have brought up the case during the campaign for governor. On Thursday, Becerra used Williamson’s plea to again declare his innocence.
“My opponents have spent millions spreading lies to purposefully mislead voters. Today confirms what I have said from day one: I did nothing wrong. Case closed. Now let’s continue the fight for the working people of California who deserve a Governor that leads with the truth,” Becerra said in a statement.
Billionaire Tom Steyer, another Democrat in the governor’s race, had called Becerra a “criminal” earlier Thursday.
“We know that @XavierBecerra likely broke state law, and now he’s at the center of an ongoing criminal investigation. Democrats cannot afford to wake up on June 3 and discover we’ve got a criminal on our hands,” Steyer wrote in a post on X. “Xavier Becerra should not be our governor, and we can’t risk having him as our nominee.”
Earlier in the week, fellow Democratic candidate Katie Porter, a former House member, also warned nominating Becerra could be precarious: “This race is too close, it’s too chaotic and there’s no reason to take a risk,” Porter said about Becerra on CNN on Monday.
Porter and Steyer did not immediately respond to a request for comment following Williamson’s plea. Williamson, who served as Newsom’s chief of staff at the time of the embezzlement, allegedly worked in conjunction with Becerra’s longtime aide Sean McCluskie. McCluskie pleaded guilty in November to one count of conspiracy to commit bank fraud and wire fraud.
During an unrelated press conference Thursday, Newsom was asked about Williamson giving false statements to the FBI while she was working for him. Newsom, a potential 2028 presidential hopeful, called Williamson’s actions “wrong” and said that when he heard the news, he thought of her daughter. “For her kids, it’s tough,” he said.
Williamson faces a maximum sentence of 38 years in prison, while McCluskie and lobbyist Greg Campbell, a co-conspirator who also pleaded guilty to his charges, are each facing up to five years. The three co-conspirators will also be subject to hefty restitution fines as noted in their respective plea agreements.
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