California Governor Gavin Newsom once again called out President Donald Trump. This time, he labeled the president the “personification of fraud” over a series of presidential pardons that Newsom claims are costing Americans nearly $2 billion.
Gavin Newsom calls out Donald Trump over ‘fraud’
The governor’s office published the comments on a newly branded section of the California government website labeled “Trump Criminals,” complete with a fake mug shot of the president stamped with the word “FRAUD” across his body.
Gavin Newsom’s latest salvo focuses on financial penalties attached to Donald Trump‘s clemency grants since 2017. According to his , more than 1,800 individuals who received pardons or commutations collectively owe nearly $2 billion in court-ordered restitution, criminal fines, and unpaid financial penalties.
“Donald Trump is the personification of fraud,” Newsom claimed on March 4. “While his administration hands out get-out-of-jail-free cards to real fraudsters, the federal government is now trying to intimidate and target California with baseless allegations of ‘massive fraud.'”
The White House dismissed Newsom’s criticism without addressing the specific financial claims about pardons. They instead turned fire on former President Joe Biden and the California governor himself. “Newscum … should focus on himself,” said White House spokesperson Abigail Jackson. “President Trump has exercised his constitutional authority to issue pardons and commutations for a variety of individuals — especially those who have been over prosecuted and targeted by a weaponized Biden DOJ” (via San Francisco Chronicle).
Newsom’s office pointed to several clemency recipients whose unpaid restitution totals in the millions, like Paul Manafort. Trump’s former campaign chairman was convicted of bank fraud and tax fraud in 2018 but received a pardon in December 2020. Newsom said Manafort’s pardon cost victims and the government more than $31.6 million in court-ordered restitution.
All in all, the exchange represents the latest one in the long-running rivalry between Newsom and Trump.
