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Gavin Newsom's Wife Paid Herself $1.8 Million Through Nonprofit, Federal Probe Reveals

PBD Podcast · Trump’s Iran Deal, Oil Drops Hard, New Epstein Report | PBD #818 · June 17, 2026
Gavin Newsom's Wife Paid Herself $1.8 Million Through Nonprofit, Federal Probe Reveals
PBD Podcast
PBD Podcast
Trump’s Iran Deal, Oil Drops Hard, New Epstein Report | PBD #818
"Jennifer Newsom's nonprofit, the Representation Project, reports an IRS filing showed that she allegedly paid herself $1.8 million in salary while another $2.1 million probably went to her production company through nonprofit funding tied to donors connected to Gavin Newsom's political world. That's almost $4 million flowing back into her own ecosystem."
Federal investigators are examining whether California First Lady Jennifer Newsom improperly funneled nearly $4 million through her nonprofit to herself and her production company between 2012 and 2025. The Department of Justice probe also involves Newsom's former chief of staff Dana Williamson, who pled guilty to bank fraud and faces 30 years in prison. Gavin Newsom released a video claiming political persecution by Trump, though the investigation began under Biden.

About this episode

Patrick Bet-David hosted billionaire attorney John Morgan, founder of Morgan & Morgan, alongside Adam Sosnick, Tom Ellsworth, and Vincent Oshana for a wide-ranging discussion of the Iran nuclear deal, the Epstein files, California corruption, and 2028 presidential politics. The episode's centerpiece was analysis of Trump's controversial Iran agreement signed on his 80th birthday at the UFC 350 event. Morgan praised Trump for prioritizing nuclear nonproliferation over his own poll numbers, arguing the president chose long-term global safety over midterm election concerns, even as the deal drew criticism from both Iranian dissidents and Israeli officials. The panel dissected whether JD Vance is being positioned as a scapegoat for the deal, with consensus building that Marco Rubio is the likely 2028 Republican nominee. The New York Times released bombshell reporting revealing Epstein desperately searched his own notes for dirt on Trump to offer prosecutors but found nothing, vindicating Trump after years of speculation. Morgan provided extensive commentary on Epstein as a first-principles blackmailer whose business model was compromising the powerful. The group examined federal investigations into Gavin and Jennifer Newsom involving nearly $4 million in alleged nonprofit fraud, with Morgan arguing Newsom is copying Trump's persecution playbook without the substance. Tensions emerged over whether Epstein was merely a creep or a systematic intelligence operation, with passionate debate about protecting children versus wealthy elites. Morgan promoted his new book Life Is Luck and explained first-principles thinking as Elon Musk's secret to becoming the world's first trillionaire, defending billionaire wealth creation against attacks from Elizabeth Warren and Bernie Sanders.

Key takeaways

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