Dana Williamson, a prominent Sacramento insider who once served as chief of staff to Governor Gavin Newsom, entered a guilty plea Thursday to federal fraud charges stemming from a scheme to pilfer campaign funds belonging to Xavier Becerra.
Authorities alleged that Williamson conspired to steal $225,000 from a dormant campaign account and funnel the money to Sean McCluskie, Becerra's chief of staff at the time. The theft was concealed through fraudulent payments that appeared to compensate McCluskie's spouse for work that was never performed.
McCluskie, who had accepted reduced pay to work for Becerra, took his own plea deal in December. Becerra, now the U.S. Secretary of Health and Human Services, has insisted he knew nothing of the arrangement.
The guilty plea landed a blow in California's contentious gubernatorial race. Becerra's opponents wasted no time weaponizing the disclosure. Billionaire Tom Steyer, a rival candidate, released a statement questioning whether Becerra could be trusted as the party's nominee. "Democrats cannot afford to wake up on June 3 and discover we've got a criminal on our hands," Steyer said, urging voters to reject Becerra.
Katie Porter, the former congresswoman also seeking the governorship, echoed similar concerns earlier this week, calling Becerra "too big of a risk" for the general election.
Becerra pushed back forcefully on social media, posting that his opponents had launched a disinformation campaign. Court filings, he noted, indicated that Williamson and McCluskie had deliberately concealed their actions from him. "I did nothing wrong," Becerra wrote on X. "Case closed."
Williamson's plea covers multiple counts. Beyond the theft conspiracy, she admitted to making false statements about the campaign fund scheme and filing fraudulent tax returns in which she claimed roughly $1.7 million in personal expenses as business deductions. Prosecutors are seeking up to 38 years in prison when she is sentenced in July.
Williamson's influence in state politics extended across administrations. She served as cabinet secretary under former Governor Jerry Brown before moving into Newsom's orbit as chief of staff, giving her deep roots in California's political establishment.
Author James Rodriguez: "The guilty plea confirms what prosecutors alleged, but the real damage here may be political rather than legal for Becerra, who now has to spend the homestretch of the race defending himself against a scandal he claims he had nothing to do with."
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