“I have faced the wrath of Dana, but I’ve also had the experience with her of getting stuff done,” said former legislative leader Toni Atkins, who worked closely with Williamson. “I’m aware of her reputation, absolutely — but everyone has a different style … Some of it’s a bad rep. She earned some of it.”

It all collapsed this week as federal prosecutors charged Williamson and two others with funneling campaign funds of then-Health Secretary Xavier Becerra to his longtime aide, lying on her taxes about a spree of luxury purchases, and deceiving federal investigators about Covid-19 business relief loans. Becerra was not implicated in the indictment and his spokesperson referred several questions to the former aide. Podesta, Williamson’s associate, has cooperated with prosecutors and has not been charged.

While the indictment largely focused on Williamson’s role in the alleged campaign money theft, the episode involving a former client — which Williamson is accused of lying to the FBI about — is the accusation that most directly touches on on Williamson’s time in the Newsom administration, depicting Williamson using her position and clout to try and influence the outcome of the case. The details, as described in the indictment, suggest it was California’s turbulent lawsuit against the gaming company Activision Blizzard.

While Newsom has not been accused of any wrongdoing, the corruption probe targeting one of his top former aides generated the first series of bad headlines in months for the likely 2028 presidential contender — providing fresh fodder for his conservative detractors and a new set of political vulnerabilities for future Democratic rivals to pick through

The corruption case ensnaring Williamson and other top operatives stunned Sacramento. But for some, there was a familiar ring to Williamson’s alleged role in the state’s lawsuit: She had acquired a reputation as a political brawler who knew where the levers of power

Williamson, whose early political experience included a stint in the Clinton White House, built up a resume of a consummate Sacramento powerbroker. She led public affairs for PG&E, working alongside Nancy McFadden, who then became a top aide to Gov. Jerry Brown. Williamson followed her mentor to Brown’s office, where she helped fashion deals on major climate legislation and ran his ballot measure campaign to roll back certain strict criminal sentencing requirements.

After Brown finished his final term, she made a lucrative jump to the private sector, building a public affairs firm with a client roster that included Fortune 500 companies such as Meta and Comcast, and top California politicians including Rob Bonta, now the state attorney general, and Becerra.

Her decision to return to the Horseshoe, as the governor’s office is colloquially known, surprised some, as she had never been a member of Newsom’s orbit and at the onset of his first term was at times a skeptic. But she quickly assumed the role of his Capitol consigliere.

Newsom’s office said it put Williamson on leave late last year after becoming aware of the case against her and that it has no indication Newsom himself has been a target, despite her attorney’s claim that federal authorities approached Williamson last year to assist with a “pending investigation” involving the governor.

A Newsom representative said the office had no knowledge of Williamson passing information about a state court case to outside entities and added a note of skepticism about a Trump-era Department of Justice prosecution, although the investigation began under President Joe Biden.

“While we are still learning details of the allegations, the Governor expects all public servants to uphold the highest standards of integrity,” spokesperson Izzy Gardon said in a statement. “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.”

Prosecutors do not name the corporate client, but the details of the case match a high-profile workplace misconduct lawsuit that California brought against Activision Blizzard in 2021. The gaming giant enlisted Williamson’s firm in the year before she joined Newsom’s staff, according to Williamson’s financial disclosure, and also brought on longtime Sacramento lobbyist Greg Campbell, a close friend of Williamson’s who accepted a plea deal in the case.
Representatives for Activision Blizzard did not respond to several requests for comment.

Williamson, in her first month in the governor’s office, told Podesta — a close friend and mentee who had taken over some of Williamson’s clients — that she’d directed a “high-level government” attorney to move the litigation and “get it settled,” according to the indictment. By the end of that year California ended its case against Activision Blizzard with a settlement that required the company to pay a $54 million fine without admitting any wrongdoing

Williamson also boasted to Podesta about an attorney involved in the case getting fired according to the indictment. While the federal charging documents do not name the person who was seeking public records related to how Williamson and others may have affected the case’s outcome the timeline and details match the account of a former government lawyer who resigned in protest in 2022, alleging the Newsom administration exerted undue influence over the case and fired another attorney for refusing to go along

That attorney, Melanie Proctor, left her post months before Williamson joined Newsom’s office; at the time, Williamson was running a private consulting firm whose clients included Becerra and Activision.

Proctor has since posted public records act requests and responsive documents to her social media account that match the timeline in the indictment. They show Williamson met with an Activision representative in early 2024, soon after California resolved the case. An attorney for Proctor and another former state employee who protested what they described in internal emails as interference from the governor’s office declined to comment.

The comments and maneuvers attributed to Williamson in the indictment match a version of Newsom’s former chief that would be familiar to many Sacramento insiders: aggressive, dismissive of her foes, and deeply familiar with how to exert influence in Sacramento.

She frequently sparred with rivals on social media, including a Democratic state lawmaker who refused to vote for a Newsom priority and a labor leader with whom she had a long-running feud. As a deal to neutralize a tough-on-crime ballot measure eluded Williamson last year — a rarity — she lashed out at a negotiator who wouldn’t play ball, telling him in a leaked email that he was “incapable of taking a win.” Stories of hostile, late-night Williamson texts abound in Sacramento.

Senators distance themselves from controversial payout provision

Fake news. Witch hunt. Lawfare.

>>1457947
>“While we are still learning details of the allegations, the Governor expects all public servants to uphold the highest standards of integrity,”
lol
>"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.”
lmao

>>1457953
Pretty much this. At this point I dislike trump so much that I'm convinced Democrats are incapable of doing any wrong and any accusations of such are clearly an attack by Trump. It's not even funny anymore.

>>1457954
They tried to frame him as a Russian spy using UK intelligence collaborating with the Obama admin, anon. All this talk about "let's wait until the evidence comes out" is a stark contrast to the years of "Trump talked with a Russian once, he's guilty of treason". They literally said that the investigation didn't find evidence of wrongdoing but that didn't exhortation him.

Also: the Epstein files are hilarious. Dems ousted Obama as a faggot to imply Trump is a secret pedophile. Talk about grasping at straws.

>>1457956
>Dems ousted Obama as a faggot to imply Trump is a secret pedophile.
How did that happen outside of the voices in your head, Tim?

>>1457956
>All this talk about "let's wait until the evidence comes out" is a stark contrast to the years of "Trump talked with a Russian once, he's guilty of treason". They literally said that the investigation didn't find evidence of wrongdoing but that didn't exhortation him.
Accurate

>>1457956
He countered the accusations by literally committing multiple treasonous acts in broad daylight. The foundering fathers would have had him arrested, convicted, and executed for treason already, and we'd have a national holiday celebrating it.

>>1457973
>The foundering fathers
foreign shill?
discuss.

>>1457973
>The foundering fathers would have had him arrested, convicted, and executed for treason already, and we'd have a national holiday celebrating it.
The founding fathers also would have kicked out every illegal in the nation and killed anyone who tried to stop it for committing treason.

So yeah, let's go back to the good ol' days.

>>1457976
back for more humiliation esl shill?

>>1457976
Founding Fathers would've seen what you call illegals as people defecting to the US lmao.
>Oh, they pay taxes? Who gives a shit lol

>>1457976
>The founding fathers also would have kicked out every illegal in the nation
Immigration controls weren't a thing in the lifetime of even the youngest founding father.

>>1457977
For fucks sake shut the fuck up
>>1457976
Independent here.
There is literally zero problem with immigration and it would honestly benefit our country immensely to loosen up restrictions on illegal immigration such that it's easy to come here to live, work, learn, etc, but also it's easy to lose that privilege.

Being completely honest with you. Skilled (and I mean actually skilled, intelligent people) are a numbers game. China has us beat. Pet capita? Most of their people are poor as dirt and uneducated, but the other half a billion who are not beat us out on numbers.

We shouldn't be trying to exclude immigrants. We should be trying to make them American and give them a path to citizenship and expeditiously remove anyone who breaks laws or doesn't make the bar

>>1457978
Yeah I can totally see Thomas Jefferson being okay with 11 million illegals taking white jobs and murdering white women in the street. Maybe George Washington could join in too if he's not too busy killing Indians.

>>1457980
>There is literally zero problem with immigration
There is literally a problem with illegal immigration.

>>1457980
>>1457981
i'll stop making fun of you when you stop posting and/or larping as a white american

>>1457981
Libshits would be crying that the founding fathers are white nationalists if they were alive during that time. And they still do regardless.
Liberalism sucks.

>>1457976
>>1457981
A white American said this:
'And someone who says I'm against abortion but I'm in agreement with the inhuman treatment of immigrants in the United States, I don't know if that's pro-life'
Who? Pope Leo XIV

>>1457985
Wow I almost gave a fuck.

>>1457984
george washington manumitted his slaves and believed they deserved the same rights as everyone else, but you can be mad at liberals for not being permanently online nerds if you like anon

>A white American gives a fuck
Proof that something on 4chan that doesn't give a fuck isn't a white American

>>1457986
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/International_reactions_to_the_election_of_Pope_Leo_XIV#Political
'President Donald Trump posted a message on Truth Social, congratulating Leo XIV for being the first American pope and expressing interest in meeting him soon. He also described the election of an American pope as "a great honor" for the United States'
>Trump gives a fuck
You're a traitor if you don't

>>1457980
>There is literally zero problem with immigration
Exactly. I have no problems at all importing Indians who rub shit on their faces during annual cow-worshiping festivals and traffic white girls through Indian-owned hotel chains in America.

The mere implication that these people are undeserving of coming to the United States is not only an insult to American values, but it's a sign of woke conservatism. America has always been a bastion of multiculturalism, even going back to the colonial era. And frankly speaking, the tech sector cannot survive unless we build a golden statue of a literal Hindu demon in the Bible Belt of America.

I can speak with full confidence about this issue because I am American. Does it matter that I live in Israel for half of the year, working remotely for an asset manager out of New York City? No, because I have the full rights and privileges of an American. I vote in American elections. My opinion about migration is just as valid as yours.

esl shill loves putting on minstrel shows for us

>>1457947
Op's editorializing:
>Top Democrat, Californias Chief of Staff
The actual article text:
>Gavin Newsom's former chief of staff
Hmmm I wonder why OP is so hellbent on unfairly smearing Newsom.

>>1457993
Newsom doesn't need to smear that which the OP is so hellbent on supporting.
Not when a previous Democrat president smeared his cum all over Trump's face after the latter sucked Bubba's dick.

>>1457982
>There is literally a problem with illegal immigration.
Illegal. I agree. There's your problem
That's what needs to be fixed.
I'm all in for giving anyone a chance who wants a chance and revoking that chance as soon as they fuck up

>>1458001
They already fucked up as soon as they got here. Just by entering illegally they showed contempt for our laws on day one. We're the easiest western nation in the world to immigrate into legally, with the lowest requirements, and that's not good enough.

And the thing that gets me the most is that the left will say they don't want completely open borders but they want our legal process to be even easier to get through, and then when you ask for specifics on what needs to change they can't give an answer.

>>1458002
Naah you don't even know what the word asylum means.

>>1458002
>we
LOL

>>1458002
The borders were never open. The border patrol were working the entire time.

>>1458008
Nah. As evidenced by the massive drop in illegal immigration as soon as Trump Season 2 started.

>>1458011
wow, i forgot about the epstein emails. good job shill anon

>>1458011
That doesn't even take into account people coming here in airplanes or boats. But I understand how 80IQ morons who see a brown person and think "OMG HELP ME ORANGEMAN I'M BEING REPLACED" would think that.

>>1458005
I know it's a process being abused that further demonstrates how easy it is to enter this country, hence easiest of all western nations to immigrate to.

>>1458008
>The borders were never open.
Did I say they were? Re-read what I just said last post.

>>1458015
The only people who think it was being abused were the racists who think white replacement is real, which is why Trump's immigration polices are do deeply unpopular with the majority of Americans.

>>1458015
>Did I say they were?
You implied Democrats want that in an epic strawman presentation, yes.

>>1458017
>You implied Democrats want that in an epic strawman presentation, yes.
No you dumbfuck. Here let me help you:
>And the thing that gets me the most is that the left will say they don't want completely open borders
>they don't want completely open borders
That means they don't want that in an epic strawman presentation. That they deny that strawman presentation. That when someone criticizes them for wanting open borders, they deny it.

The problem is they also say that our legal immigration process needs reform, but when asked can't say what about it needs to be reformed.

Did I make that simple enough for you? I mean I can try to dumb it down further if you still don't get it.

>>1458018
i feel sorry for your mother

>>1458014
>That doesn't even take into account people coming here in airplanes or boats.
Yeah it does. Because Biden was using the CBP Home app to streamline the asylum-seeking process. It was only until Trump that they appropriated it and used it to self-deport illegals.
You guys just lie. All the time.

>>1458020
Who misled you into thinking this?

Democrat takes 10%,
Republican takes 99%

Lesser of two evils is a matter of quantity, less corruption, less molesting, less murder, simple math really

Democratic America, now with less rapey.

Any brown can paint themselves orange and Maga will bow in worship of an orange man or go with green and pretend to be an alien for the other 80% of Maga which are basement dweller neofags.

>>1457981
Jefferson woould fucking love it.
>Why would we make the act of men seeking freedom and liberty a crime? Why do you consider them against the law? That so many men yearn for a nation which respects their natural rights is proof of the superiority of the system we created. Now go away

>>1458040
What?

>>1458049
>he said while owning slaves

>>1458040
>implements rent controls and permitting processes so bad landlords would rather just burn down their apartments to get out of the contract than try to run a stable business
>spend billions in government funds on your nepobuddies charity to house the homeless, so he can house fewer people than existing shelters
>raise the minimum wage to the point business can’t afford to hire you, then import millions of illegals for the business to hire under the table
>stop punishing property crime, causing shoplifting to spike and either killing small businesses outright or forcing the big ones to move out of the area, creating “food deserts” where none existed before
>stop punishing crime in general to the point that the subways are overrun with crackheads, the mentally ill, and “urban youths” pushing people onto train tracks
This is all just New York City. The same trends happen everywhere with solid blue control - there’s a reason Californians and New Yorkers are swarming to more southern states like locusts.


So yeah, I’d happily take a Trumpcoin rugpull over having the very foundations of civilization destroyed by some privileged bureaucrat who’s never touched a wrench or a ladder in his life.

>>1458058
Wow so many strawmen in one post. It's got to be a record for this board.

>>1458051
What?

>>1458058
ok boomer

>Trump born in 1946
>there are those born from 1995 onwards who love a boomer
The duality of the hypocrite

>>1458058
Good post.

>>1458058
>there’s a reason Californians and New Yorkers are swarming to more southern states like locusts.
This x 1 million. These fucking cancerous rats can't be content with ruining their own dogshit state, but have to come her and spread their disease to our homes - voting for the same shit that made them leave in the first place!

>>1458067
Indeed.

>>1458068
Useless post.