An FBI corruption probe has reached California Governor Gavin Newsom and his wife, which is bad news for Newsom's political standing and possible 2028 ambitions.

• The FBI got a close Newsom ally, Alexis Podesta, to secretly wear a wire starting in mid-2024.
• The recordings helped catch Newsom's former chief of staff, Dana Williamson, who pleaded guilty to fraud and tax charges for moving campaign money into fake consulting jobs.
• Williamson is now likely cooperating, and prosecutors have expanded the probe to the Newsoms and their nonprofit's questionable spending.
• Getting a wire and phone taps approved means a judge already saw strong evidence, so this is more than a rumor.
• Newsom has stayed unusually quiet, and some think rival Democratic socialists may be quietly working to knock him out of the 2028 race.

Outlook: Expect more pressure on Newsom as Williamson's cooperation and the nonprofit investigation play out, though it's unclear yet whether charges reach the governor himself.