California Gov. Gavin Newsom's former chief of staff arrested by FBI public corruption probe

Lia Russell and Sharon Bernstein, The Sacramento Bee on Nov 12, 2025

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SACRAMENTO, Calif. – Federal officials charged Dana Williamson, Gov. Gavin Newsom’s former chief of staff, Wednesday with public corruption, according to a federal indictment obtained by The Sacramento Bee.

Williamson, who left the Governor’s Office in December 2024, is named along with her employees Greg Campbell, Sean McCluskie and two others on conspiracy to commit wire fraud and bank fraud. There are 23 counts in total.

The three are expected to make an initial appearance Wednesday afternoon in Sacramento federal court. Williamson and Newsom’s office did not immediately respond to requests for comment.

Williamson was the third chief of staff to Newsom. Before joining his staff, she operated her own consulting firm, Grace Public Affairs, and was a senior aide to numerous California elected officials, including Govs. Jerry Brown and Gray Davis.

Her aggressive leadership style and political influence made her a central figure in the Capitol, drawing praise from allies and criticism from opponents. Before deactivating her X (formerly Twitter) account, Williamson frequently criticized political opponents, often targeting lawmakers who disagreed with the administration’s priorities.

She stepped down from Newsom’s office months after clashing with supporters of Proposition 36, which Newsom did not support, in emails leaked to the media.

In a farewell statement issued last December, Williamson said, “It’s always hard to leave this work, but in two short years, we’ve made a lasting impact. I’ve had the honor of serving under three governors and when asked what I will miss the most, my answer is always the same — the privilege of working with some of the smartest and most committed people I’ve ever known.”

McCluskie is a longtime former chief of staff to Xavier Becerra, the former Biden official and California Attorney General now running for governor.

Campbell ran a lobbying and consulting firm called Campbell Strategy & Advocacy.

The indictment accuses Williamson and two co-conspirators of funneling dormant campaign funds through accounts they controlled for the benefit of McCluskie. The money was then disguised to pay McCluskie’s spouse for a “no show” job, the indictment alleges.

It says that McCluskie had worked for an unnamed person referred to as “public official 1,” who had a dormant campaign account. Williamson, the indictment said, billed the account for $7,500 per month for consulting services, and McClusky would approve the payments.

McCluskie and Williamson had an “ongoing relationship of trust” with the public official, who would not have otherwise approved the payments, the indictment said.

The charges come less than a year after Williamson was replaced by Nathan Barankin, a former adviser to Vice President Kamala Harris and now Newsom’s top aide.

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—The Bee Capitol Bureau’s Nicole Nixon contributed to this story.

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