Xavier Becerra denied knowing anything about a scheme federal prosecutors say was launched by his former campaign manager and chief of staff to pilfer $250,000 from his dormant campaign coffers.
Certainly not!
Sean McCluskie, a former longtime aide to California Attorney General Xavier Becerra, pleaded guilty to charges related to stealing funds from Becerra’s dormant campaign account on Thursday.
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| Dana Williamson was under federal investigation when she worked for Governor Gavin Newsom as his Chief of Staff from 2022 to 2024, prosecutors say. |
McCluskie, who was indicted alongside Governor Gavin Newsom’s Chief of Staff Dana Williamson, is accused of conspiring with his wife, Kerry MacKay, and the Democratic Party’s longtime power player to pilfer funds from Becerra’s campaign coffers as a way to pad his paycheck when his boss took a job in the Biden cabinet as Health and Human Services Secretary, prosecutors say.
Williamson, a top aide to Newsom until late 2024 when the FBI made it clear she was under investigation, had previously served as Becerra’s campaign manager in 2018 during his successful reelection campaign for California State Attorney General.
McCluskie has since admitted to colluding with Williamson and a Sacramento lobbyist, Greg Campbell, to pilfer campaign contributions from his former boss beginning in 2022. His plea agreement was filed under seal as he continues to cooperate with the ongoing investigation.
The disgraced ex-pol is now slated to be sentenced in February 2026. McCluskie was Becerra’s second in command in the California AG’s Office, going back to 2017, and he then followed his boss into the Biden Administration in 2021 when he was appointed as Secretary of Health and Human Services.
Williamson was charged by a federal grand jury this month with conspiracy to commit bank and wire fraud, conspiracy to defraud the United States and obstruct justice, subscribing to false tax returns, and making false statements. Newsom issued his first statement on his former top aide’s arrest this week after it was revealed the FBI sting included conversations recorded at his State House office.
"My first reaction was real shock and deep concern — the seriousness of the allegations, the impact on Dana’s children, and whether the Trump Administration has politicized this," Newsom said in a statement. "We were first made aware of the investigation almost a year ago, and the moment I learned of it, my legal team and I placed her on leave while hoping it would be appropriately resolved."
"I wasn’t privy to any details as it unfolded, and this is not the kind of thing I’m used to seeing in public service," Newsom continued. "I hold our team to very high standards of ethics and accountability, and I’m still processing the seriousness of the allegations."
Shocked, I tell you! I'm shocked!