Gavin Newsom has pledged to publicly release all his tax returns as governor in a dramatic development in the ongoing Department of Justice probe into his family’s finances.
Newsom’s office said Friday it is “working to prepare” the governor’s tax returns spanning his current term in office as federal officials reportedly investigate his wife Jennifer Siebel Newsom’s finances and other individuals close to the governor.
Newsom previously pledged to release annual tax returns during his 2018 campaign for governor, calling it a “moral duty” in what was viewed as a shot at President Donald Trump, who broke tradition by declining to voluntarily release his returns.
But the one-time wine entrepreneur and now presidential aspirant stopped posting his returns after the 2022 reelection.
His last release was for the tax year 2020, which were released more than four years ago.
“The Governor and First Partner publicly disclose their income annually. They have released every tax return that had been filed while he was a candidate for statewide office, covering 2015 through his 2022 re-election,” said Newsom’s spokesperson Tara Gallegos in an email.
“We are working to prepare the remaining returns for transparency. Unlike Donald Trump, the Governor has nothing to hide,” she added.
Newsom’s office didn’t provide a timeline for the tax disclosures.
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The governor was asked about the tax returns by Calmatters in 2024, and spokesperson Nathan Click claimed at the time they would eventually be provided to reporters “in a controlled setting.”
“Gavin Newsom’s lack of transparency is unsurprising and deeply hypocritical. After making a big deal of promising to release his tax returns, he has failed to turn over any returns for years,” said Caitlin Sutherland, executive director of Americans for Public Trust.
“This raises significant questions about just what the Newsoms are hiding, especially as they are under federal investigation,” she added.
The Newsoms’ family fortune —which includes a $9 million estate in posh Marin County, another $3.7 million home in Fair Oaks and a sprawling wine empire — has been the subject of scrutiny since sources revealed this week that Siebel Newsom’s taxes are one focus of multiple federal probes surrounding the governor.
The couple earned about $1.5 million in income and paid $480,000 in taxes, according to Newsom’s 2020 tax return.
The pair took out a massive mortgage of $6.5 million to purchase their estate in Kentfield, about 20 minutes north of San Francisco, through an LLC created by Siebel Newsom. No “entities outside of the family” provided financial help, CalMatters reported.
Newsom earns $246,000 in salary as governor while Siebel Newsom has paid herself between $150,000 and $300,000 annually through her gender justice nonprofit, the Representation Project, and a for-profit documentary film company called Girls Club Entertainment.
Newsom’s extensive holdings in the wine and hospitality business include luxury wine shop Plumpjack, wineries and distribution businesses, according to his economic disclosures filed annually. He got his start with the help of billionaire oil heir Gordon Getty and was already worth millions by the time he ran for mayor of San Francisco.
The governor also earned $100,000 in book royalties and fees from his memoir, “Young Man in a Hurry.”
Siebel Newsom, who comes from a wealthy Republican family in Marin County, has a blind trust worth over $1 million, according to economic disclosures.
Newsom said in a video Monday that federal investigations “knocked on the doors of family, friends, and former employees” for political reasons as he considers running for president in 2028.
The US Attorney’s Office in the Eastern District of California is specifically probing allegations brought forward by California whistleblowers regarding Siebel Newsom’s taxes, a source said, along with his former chief of staff, Dana Williamson and potentially current staffers.
“There are clearly no boundaries to what Donald Trump will do to get his way or to challenge those who get in his way,” Siebel Newsom said in a statement.
“This is not presidential behavior, and the Governor and I will continue to speak truth to power because the American people deserve so much more,” she said.
