Powerhouse lawyer for Newsom’s ex-aide calls fed’s arrest politically motivated
Dana Williamson, the former chief of staff to Gov. Gavin Newsom who was arrested Wednesday by the FBI for alleged federal corruption charges, will be represented in court by McGregor Scott, who served as the top federal prosecutor in Sacramento under two Republican presidential administrations.
Scott said in an interview late Wednesday that he planned to vigorously defend Williamson against charges of bank fraud, wire fraud, false tax returns and obstruction of justice stemming from a scheme prosecutors said was aimed at funneling money to a lobbyist.
He said that Williamson, who is ill and awaiting a liver transplant, was arrested in a manner that federal prosecutors usually reserve for violent criminals and people who are a flight risk. Officials did not contact him as her attorney, despite numerous requests for a meeting before any charges were filed, he said.
The case sets up something of a battle between the region’s new U.S. Attorney, Eric Grant, who was appointed in August by President Donald Trump, and a powerhouse prosecutor who was appointed by Trump in his first term as well as former President George W. Bush.
Scott said that he was on a plane to the East Coast on Wednesday and did not know that his client had been taken into custody until he learned about it in an email from prosecutors.
“I am as angry as I have been in a very long time at the manner in which the United States Attorney’s Office has handled this matter,” Scott said. “I am livid that they chose to arrest her at her home this morning.”
“She is literally sitting at home waiting for her turn on the list for a liver transplant,” Scott said.
The manner of the arrest, Scott said, appeared to be in retaliation for Williamson’s inability to provide evidence against Newsom in a case the FBI was investigating last fall, before Trump’s election.
Williamson was arrested Wednesday morning at her home, and appeared in court later that afternoon wearing sweats, a pair of glasses and her hair pulled back in an informal bun. She entered not guilty pleas to all counts and was released on $500,000 bond, leaving the federal courthouse downtown flanked by her lawyers and staff as reporters lobbed questions.
Williamson, 53, operated her own consulting firm, Grace Public Affairs, before she became Newsom’s chief of staff. She also worked for Govs. Jerry Brown and Gray Davis. She was something of a polarizing figure in the Capitol, with an aggressive leadership style that drew criticism from its targets but praise from those she supported.
She left the Governor’s Office amid clashes with proponents of Proposition 36, a controversial ballot initiative that increased penalties for some crimes and was not supported by Newsom, according to previous Bee reporting.
The indictment, signed by Grant, charged Williamson with 23 counts of conspiracy, fraud, lying on a tax return and obstruction of justice. Two alleged co-conspirators, lobbyists Greg Campbell and Sean McCluskie, agreed to plead guilty in connection with the case.
According to the plea agreements and other court filings, the scheme involved funneling money from a dormant political campaign account to McCluskie, via paychecks for a fake job in the name of his wife. In their plea agreements, McCluskie and Campbell said that McCluskie had taken a job in Washington, D.C., at a salary lower than what he had been making as a lobbyist, and the money was meant to make up for that.
The indictment said that Williamson had helped to facilitate those payments by participating in an elaborate scheme to funnel money out of a politician’s dormant campaign fund.
The politician was not named in court documents, but McCluskie did work for former U.S. Secretary of Health and Human Services Xavier Becerra, a former California congressman and attorney general who is running for governor.
The indictment also accused Williamson of lying to the FBI and lying on tax returns, claiming purchases of luxury items, a chartered plane and a heating and air conditioning system for her house as business expenses.
Scott said he had not spoken personally to Grant about the case.
But in response to queries from The Bee, the U.S. Attorney’s Office said that agents did give Williamson time to change into clothing of her own choosing before detaining her, and coordinated closely with the FBI, U.S. Marshals Service and the court to make sure that she did not have to spend the night in jail.
But Grant’s office said that in addition to its arrest of Williamson, agents conducted a search of her home. When a search warrant is conducted, the office said, defense attorneys are not informed.
“At approximately 10:00 a.m. this morning, federal agents arrested the defendant at her home and executed a search warrant to gather evidence,” the U.S. Attorney’s Office said. “As a matter of course, both for the safety of officers and for the preservation of evidence, this office does not inform defense counsel prior to the execution of a search warrant.”
Williamson is expected to return to federal court Dec. 11.
This story was originally published November 12, 2025 at 6:19 PM.
