The timeline of the FBI’s case against former top Newsom aide Dana Williamson
AI-generated summary reviewed by our newsroom.
- FBI opened a three-year corruption probe that led to Williamson’s 2025 arrest.
- Indictment links payments through consultant network to benefit McCluskie’s family.
- Williamson pleaded not guilty to 23 counts; next federal hearing set for Dec 2025.
Shockwaves reverberated through Sacramento on Wednesday when Gov. Gavin Newsom’s former chief of staff, Dana Williamson, was arrested in connection with a political corruption probe conducted by the Federal Bureau of Investigation.
Williamson has denied any wrongdoing, and Gov. Gavin Newsom’s office has both distanced itself from the scandal and suggested it could be politically motivated.
“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,” the office said in an email Wednesday.
The FBI has said the arrest on Nov. 12 was a culmination of three years of investigation, beginning when President Joe Biden was in office.
The following dates and information are drawn from Williamson’s indictment, as well as the plea agreements made by two of her alleged co-conspirators, Greg Campbell and Sean McCluskie. Longtime Sacramento consultant Alexa Podesta is not named in the FBI’s case, but her attorney confirmed to The Sacramento Bee she is another of the co-conspirators mentioned in the indictment.
Here are 10 of the biggest moments in the FBI’s case against Williamson.
March 18, 2021: McCluskie begins a new job
On March 18, 2021, California Attorney General Xavier Becerra was officially appointed by Biden to be the U.S. secretary of Health and Human Services. The country was still in the thick of the COVID-19 pandemic, with millions still waiting for their initial vaccine.
Becerra’s longtime chief of staff, McCluskie, agreed to come with him to Washington, D.C. According to the indictment, McCluskie’s new job paid $183,100 annually. It was a more than $40,000 pay cut for the official, who was paid $227,110 in his state role.
In his federal role, Becerra was no longer allowed to spend the roughly $1.7 million in his Becerra for Attorney General 2022 account.
Later that year, Newsom triumphed in the Sept. 14 recall election that ignited after news of his dining at the French Laundry broke the year before.
Feb. 18, 2022: McCluskie and Williamson rendezvous
On Feb. 18, 2022, McCluskie and Williamson met at a restaurant in midtown to discuss McCluskie’s desire for more money, according to the plea agreement. The agreement states that with his new job, the aide’s expenses exceeded his income.
In the following days and weeks, McCluskie and Williamson were in communication about the logistics of working together. Around March 14, 2022, Williamson and Becerra met, and Williamson confirmed with a lawyer who oversaw campaign expenses that she would charge $7,500 per month to look over Becerra’s dormant campaign account.
Thus, a scheme to funnel money from Becerra’s account to McCluskie was set in motion. McCluskie would approve Becerra’s account paying Williamson’s company, Grace Public Affairs, $7,500 per month to “manage the account.” Then, Grace Public Affairs would pay $10,000 per month to The Collaborative, controlled by Campbell. The Collaborative would then pay that money to Kerry MacKay, McCluskie’s wife.
It’s unclear why Williamson agreed to the scheme or what her prior relationship was to McCluskie.
The Collaborative is a cohort of consultancies and communication firms with ties to the Newsom administration and other Democrats. Business records and its since-deleted website list Campbell, Williamson, Podesta and Jim DeBoo, Newsom’s former executive secretary, as some of the managing members.
“I was gone from The Collaborative for over four years and had no knowledge of the business,” De Boo said in a text message on Friday. His name, along with Campbell and Podesta, was listed as a manager on business documents filed with the Secretary of State on Sept. 9.
Among those firms included in the cohort is Bearstar Strategies, which has long managed campaigns for Newsom and former Vice President Kamala Harris.
Bearstar spokesperson David Beltran said the firm participated in a joint marketing press release with The Collaborative and worked on one campaign in 2022.
“Bearstar and its partners had no interest, stake or other involvement with this entity,” he said in an email.
November 2022: Williamson is hired by the governor; FBI starts investigation
Newsom triumphed over Republican candidate Brian Dahle on Nov. 9, 2022. He picked Williamson, a former cabinet secretary for Jerry Brown, to be his chief of staff. Williamson told the Los Angeles Times that she planned to sever financial ties to her company while in her new position.
Williamson began the process of handing off the scheme to Podesta, according to the indictment. She introduced Podesta to McCluskie and sent her last invoice, seeking payment from September through December 2022.
McCluskie told Becerra that Podesta would be in charge going forward, and that his wife would be working for The Collaborative.
Based on a statement made Wednesday, this is around the time when the FBI began its investigation into possible corruption.
January 2023: Williamson steps into power
On Jan. 2, 2023, Williamson handed off the operation officially to Podesta, emailing the campaign accounts lawyer informing them of the change.
The next day, she began at the Governor’s Office.
Newsom’s office tweeted: “Welcome to the @CAgovernor’s Office, Dana! 👏👏”
On her third day on the job, she went on KQED’s “Political Breakdown,” and talked about re-entering state government and how Newsom is focused on moving forward following the pandemic. Hosts Marisa Lagos and Scott Shafer referenced Williamson’s adversarial style.
“I am not known for being deferential,” she said with a laugh.
The indictment alleges that Williamson brought her power broker style to the office immediately.
One allegation that’s been raising eyebrows is that Williamson used her role to influence state activity to benefit a client Podesta represented.
That company, Company 1, was involved in litigation with the state. Williamson allegedly told a high-level government attorney to move the litigation to a different part of the state government and get it settled.
Throughout, she was feeding information to Podesta and other consultant colleagues, according to the indictment.
Sept. 11, 2023: Williamson files a bogus tax return
Williamson falsely wrote off $861,033 in bogus business deductions, the indictment says, including charges of $12,000 for earrings and a bag at Chanel and $156,302 for a luxury hotel stay and activities in Mexico.
This wasn’t the first time she made improper business deductions, alleged the FBI. In October 2022, she allegedly wrote off $160,201 for personal expenses, including charges for a $15,000 Chanel handbag and a $15,662 luxury hotel stay for her 50th birthday.
Jan. 16, 2024: Paycheck Protection Program loan questions emerge
On or around Jan. 16, 2024, Williamson’s company, Grace Public Affairs, was served with a Financial Institutions Reform, Recovery and Enforcement Act, or FIRREA, subpoena, regarding Paycheck Protection Program Loans the company received during the pandemic.
Newsom’s office said in a statement Friday that it was informed a few months before Williamson left her post that she was working to resolve a civil matter related to a PPP loan.
April 23, 2024: Politico checks things out
The first public scrutiny of Becerra’s consultant payments came when Politico wrote a story about the cabinet secretary’s future plans.
The outlet flagged that Becerra had spent more than $130,000 for campaign consulting fees to Podesta’s company.
The attorney for the committee, Stephen J. Kaufman, said the charges were for committee oversight “including payment of ongoing expenses and filing of required campaign reports.”
Ethics expert Delaney Marsco flagged the payments as “very high” for what they were.
July 29, 2024: A final meeting
The FBI was in the know by the end of July, documents show, when Williamson, Podesta and Campbell met for lunch at a restaurant near the Capitol. The meeting was recorded by the agency.
Podesta said she wanted to end the arrangement, and the three began to discuss the feasibility of ending the payments. Williamson requested help with fabricating documents, the indictment alleges, to respond to the subpoena about her PPP loan.
Nov. 14, 2024: Williamson is questioned by the FBI
The last count in Williamson’s indictment is that she lied to the FBI during an interview on Nov. 14, 2024. It is alleged that she made seven false statements, including ones about the Becerra payments, her PPP loan cover-up, and the extent to which she shared state government information with interested parties at The Collaborative.
The Governor’s Office said Wednesday it put her on leave that month. In December, a new chief of staff was announced.
Nov. 12, 2025: Williamson pleads ‘not guilty’
Almost a full year after she was interviewed by the FBI, Williamson was arrested in her Carmichael home. The news shook the Sacramento political scene where Williamson and her alleged co-conspirators were mainstays, and prompted Newsom’s office to distance itself from her.
During a hearing in federal court, Williamson pleaded not guilty to all 23 charges against her.
Her next court appearance is scheduled for December 11.
The Bee Capitol Bureau’s Lia Russell contributed to this story.
This story was originally published November 14, 2025 at 5:20 PM.
