Lawyer says Newsom ally Alexis Podesta recorded FBI-directed conversations in corruption probe

SACRAMENTO, CALIFORNIA: Alexis Podesta, a California political consultant and Newsom appointee, secretly recorded conversations for the FBI as early as June 2024 as part of a federal corruption probe, according to McGregor Scott, the attorney representing Dana Williamson, Gov. Gavin Newsom's former chief of staff who pleaded guilty to federal fraud charges in May.

Scott, a former US Attorney for the Eastern District of California, said Podesta's cooperation with federal investigators helps explain the breadth of the Sacramento corruption probe, which drew dozens of political insiders into the FBI's investigation.

Why Alexis Podesta's alleged cooperation matters

The significance of the revelation lies not simply in the fact that Podesta cooperated with the FBI but in what it explains about the scope of the investigation.

The FBI had a mole inside Gov. Gavin Newsom's political orbit before the agency's corruption probe expanded into the governor and his wife, The Post has learned.

In November 2025, when Williamson was indicted on 23 felony counts, the FBI's Sacramento Field Office sent letters to dozens of Sacramento lobbyists, political operatives, and lawmakers notifying them that their phone calls and electronic communications had been intercepted during the summer of 2024 as part of the probe.

Many recipients had no known connection to Williamson or only limited ones, leaving the political community to wonder about the extent of the investigation.

Podesta's role as an active cooperating source, recording conversations at the FBI's direction, helps explain the breadth of those intercepts.

The revelation that she was wearing a wire as far back as June 2024 explains why a swath of Sacramento political insiders and lobbyists were stunned to receive FBI letters last fall informing them that their phone calls had been intercepted during the investigation, despite many having little or no connection to Williamson.

“Alexis wore a wire, and Dana did not,” said McGregor Scott, Williamson's lawyer and a former US attorney for the Eastern District of California, which is now investigating the Newsoms.

What the investigation means for Gavin Newsom

Williamson's plea agreement, filed in May, states she pleaded guilty to conspiracy to commit bank and wire fraud, filing a false tax return, and making false statements to federal agents.

Her sentencing is expected in September 2026. Scott has said that the FBI also asked Williamson to assist with a separate investigation into Newsom himself, but that she told investigators she had no knowledge of any wrongdoing on his part.

Assemblymember Josh Hoover (R-Folsom) told The Post he was among those who received one of the letters even though he had never spoken with either Williamson or Podesta.

“A lot of people received letters essentially informing us that there were certain periods of time where the FBI was given access to follow phone calls,” Hoover said.

“I don't know how these investigations work, but it sounds like they cast a pretty broad net across the Capitol community to see what they could find.”

The US Attorney's Office for the Eastern District of California has said the investigation remains ongoing but has not publicly identified additional targets or named Newsom as a subject of the probe.

Newsom has denied wrongdoing and accused the Trump administration of politically targeting him. The governor's office declined to comment on Podesta's status, calling it a personnel matter.

Alexis Podesta's role in the California corruption probe

Podesta, a longtime Democratic power broker, remains on California's State Compensation Insurance Fund board, where she receives annual compensation of nearly $61,000 after Newsom appointed her in January 2020.

She previously served as secretary of the California Business, Consumer Services, and Housing Agency and held senior positions in Gov. Jerry Brown's administration.

Podesta has not been charged with a crime, but her attorney, Bill Portanova, has identified her as the uncharged co-conspirator described in the Williamson indictment and confirmed she has cooperated with federal investigators.