The FBI was secretly listening final yr when a high-ranking advisor to Gov. Gavin Newsom unleashed a stream of profanities as she vented a few public data request from an unnamed particular person.
“Double f— her!” mentioned Dana Williamson, Newsom’s chief of workers, repeating the F phrase all through the dialog. She additionally known as one other particular person an “a—,” in response to federal courtroom paperwork made public this week.
Earlier than Wednesday, few folks outdoors of California’s political bubble possible knew Williamson’s identify.
Now she’s engulfed in a scandal involving political consultants and illicit funds that threatens to hang-out her former boss, Newsom, as he challenges President Trump and appears towards the 2028 presidential race.
A wise and savvy negotiator who bridged Sacramento’s overlapping worlds of presidency, enterprise and labor, Williamson can be somebody who picked pointless fights and launched merciless missives, political consultants and buddies mentioned this week.
Federal brokers arrested Williamson, 53, Wednesday at her house in Carmichael, a Sacramento suburb. Her lawyer, former U.S. Atty. McGregor Scott, was livid about how the arrest was dealt with, saying she was significantly unwell and in want of a liver transplant.
Federal prosecutors allege that she conspired to funnel cash out of certainly one of her onetime consumer’s state marketing campaign accounts for bogus providers, and falsified paperwork associated to her COVID mortgage.
She is also accused of mendacity on her tax returns about luxurious gadgets and providers, together with a $150,000 birthday journey to Mexico, that she allegedly sought to cross off as enterprise bills, in response to the federal government.
Williamson, who pleaded not responsible to the costs this week, appeared in a courtroom in Sacramento. She appeared solemn throughout the listening to, at one level reportedly lifting her cuffed hand to wipe away a tear, and left with out speaking to reporters.
Court docket paperwork filed this week paint a picture of each a conniving participant and a fragile particular person. “I’m scared,” she wrote in a February 2022 textual content message to a colleague as they mentioned the alleged money-laundering scheme, which was allegedly within the early planning levels.
Public affairs guide Steven Maviglio has identified her for the reason that two labored in President Clinton’s administration — after which later the administration of Gov. Grey Davis. He’s now making an attempt to place collectively a authorized protection fund for her.
He described Williamson as a “no nonsense, no BS, get it carried out” one that was “straight-talking, typically to the purpose of offensive to folks.”
She frequently dropped f-bombs, he added.
In one other recording captured by the FBI, Williamson joined two colleagues final yr in a restaurant close to the state Capitol in Sacramento. The federal government was asking questions on cash she acquired by her COVID mortgage.
She complained concerning the “f—” drama and mentioned her Paycheck Safety Program (PPP) mortgage obtained “popped” — earlier than including one other swear phrase. Based on federal officers, she created false contracts in an try to point out the COVID cash was appropriately used.
There’s little sympathy from her detractors. Gil Duran, the previous press secretary to Gov. Jerry Brown, who labored alongside Williamson, likened her to a “mafia boss” in an interview with CNN. She additionally has quite a few defenders in Sacramento, lots of them girls, who view her as a tricky and provoking determine.
The small print within the federal filings despatched shock waves past Sacramento and the state Capitol this week.
“I’m surprised concerning the allegation and discover it laborious to consider,” mentioned Alison Gaulden, who supervised Williamson when she labored as an affiliate vp of public affairs for Deliberate Parenthood Mar Monte from 2002 to 2004.
Gaulden described her as “extremely shiny and properly versed in coverage. I’ve admired how she grew in her profession.”
Williamson, who grew up in Santa Rosa, moved between the non-public and public sectors, and was employed by three governors, Davis, Jerry Brown and Newsom.
At Pacific Fuel and Electrical Co. (PG&E), she labored alongside two different girls who can be remarkably influential in her life: Nancy McFadden, the late advisor to Brown and Alexis Podesta, a longtime California political insider who additionally seems within the federal courtroom paperwork filed this week.
Podesta is the particular person recognized as “Co-Conspirator 2,” however has not been charged and is cooperating with investigators, in response to her lawyer.
Williamson was employed as a senior advisor for Brown and was later promoted to Cupboard secretary.
Whereas working for Brown, Williamson publicly advocated for youngsters’s well being, testifying in favor of laws that will eradicate the state’s personal-belief exemption for childhood vaccines. She mentioned the difficulty was significant to her as a result of she was a mom of 4.
“Normally, workers doesn’t converse on payments, the beauty of the governor is that he respects that we’re folks first,” Williamson informed the San Francisco Chronicle. “This was vital to me.”
Enterprise advocates appreciated her direct method when she labored for Brown.
“She was very simple, she was a great particular person to work with,” mentioned Stuart Waldman, president of Valley Business and Commerce Assn. He mentioned he hadn’t dealt together with her in years.
She flip-flopped between non-public and authorities work, drawing criticism from teams like Client Watchdog for her “revolving door” profession.
In a single episode, she was allegedly seen negotiating for her power purchasers in Brown’s workplace because the state hammered out particulars over a grid deal, drawing outrage from the watchdog group.
She began her personal authorities relations agency, Grace Public Affairs, which dealt with an array of campaigns, together with the net sports activities betting initiative Proposition 27, which appeared on the 2022 poll, however did not cross.
Her purchasers included California Insurance coverage Commissioner Ricardo Lara, and former Atty. Gen. Xavier Becerra, whose marketing campaign fund was allegedly raided by Williamson, and others.
By 2017, she had an in depth group of feminine buddies, who had additionally risen to the highest of their professions. However to those that weren’t in her internal circle, she was all elbows, one political insider mentioned this week.
On the California Democratic Celebration headquarters in downtown Sacramento, a bronze statue of Williamson’s then-5-year-old daughter was put in as a part of a marketing campaign to advertise feminine empowerment following Democratic presidential candidate Hillary Clinton’s 2016 loss.
These behind the statue included Williamson’s buddies Robin Swanson, a Democratic communications guide, and Angie Tate, then a chief fundraiser for the California Democratic Celebration.
The set up was supposed to imitate the “Fearless Woman” statue at New York’s Wall Road, which reveals a 4-foot younger girl wanting defiantly on the well-known charging bull statue.
In 2022, Newsom’s workplace introduced Williamson was becoming a member of his workplace as chief of workers. Although the 2 weren’t significantly shut when she joined, she shortly grew to become a part of his internal circle, Politico reported on the time.
Anthony York, Newsom’s former communications director and a former L.A. Occasions reporter, informed Politico on the time that Williamson was not intimidated by the governor’s movie star standing. “She provides zero f—s, which is a part of what makes her so nice,” York mentioned.
Throughout her time in Newsom’s workplace, she labored with former Senate chief Darrell Steinberg on the profitable passage of Proposition 1, which borrows billions of {dollars} for psychological well being providers, and was a private problem for her household.
“I had a very powerful expertise with my husband that I discovered rather a lot from… when the incident occurred with him, I discovered about all of the holes within the system,” she informed KQED.
She moved from Elk Grove final yr to Carmichael, buying a house for $1.695 million, in response to property data. The data present her linked to a number of properties in Elk Grove, together with one which went into foreclosures in 2012.
Williamson would ship off combative messages, together with social media posts or texts, usually at evening. Amongst her targets: California Labor Federation President Lorena Gonzalez and U.S. Rep. Kevin Kiley (R-Rocklin), whom she known as an “entertaining fool” on X.
She took purpose at former Assemblymember Kevin McCarty throughout his marketing campaign final yr for Sacramento mayor. She known as him a “satan” on X and urged others to not vote for him, earlier than her remark was taken down a number of days later.
Newsom positioned Williamson on depart when she knowledgeable him final yr she was below prison investigation. Her final day in workplace was in November 2024. On the time, the governor mentioned in a press release that “her perception, tenacity, and massive coronary heart will probably be missed.”
This week, a spokesperson for the governor struck a special tone: “Ms. Williamson not serves on this administration. Whereas we’re nonetheless studying particulars of the allegations, the Governor expects all public servants to uphold the very best requirements of integrity.”
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