Co‑Conspirator On Payroll—Newsom Plays Dumb

Gavin Newsom is now claiming FBI informant and co‑conspirator Alexis Podesta was never “in his orbit” — even though he personally put her on a taxpayer‑funded state board at the center of a corruption storm.

Story Snapshot

Newsom appointed Alexis Podesta to a powerful state board in 2020 and she still earns about $61,000 a year from taxpayers.
Federal court records and her own lawyer identify Podesta as “Co‑Conspirator 2” in the fraud case tied to Newsom’s former chief of staff.
Reports say Podesta secretly recorded conversations for the Federal Bureau of Investigation (FBI) inside Newsom’s political inner circle.
Newsom’s team now insists she was not “in his orbit,” while dodging direct questions and calling the scandal a political hit.

Newsom’s Appointment Now Collides With A Federal Fraud Probe

Governor Gavin Newsom formally appointed Alexis Podesta to the State Compensation Insurance Fund Board of Directors in January 2020, citing her work as secretary of the California Business, Consumer Services and Housing Agency as proof of her experience. This board helps oversee worker injury insurance for California businesses, giving its members real influence over costs and regulations. Podesta still sits on that board and, according to multiple reports, draws nearly $61,000 a year funded by taxpayers for this part‑time post.

Federal prosecutors later unsealed an indictment against Dana Williamson, Newsom’s former chief of staff, laying out a scheme to siphon about $225,000 from Xavier Becerra’s dormant campaign account through fake consulting invoices and shell companies. Court documents and reporting tie that money‑moving operation to a small circle of Sacramento insiders, including consultant Greg Campbell, former top Becerra aide Sean McCluskie, and an unnamed “Co‑Conspirator 2.” That “Co‑Conspirator 2” has since been publicly confirmed by her lawyer and multiple outlets as Alexis Podesta.

From Co‑Conspirator To FBI Informant Inside Newsom’s Inner Circle

Coverage of the Williamson case shows Podesta was responsible for handling the Becerra campaign account after Williamson left consulting to become Newsom’s chief of staff, and she kept authorizing payments that prosecutors now call part of the fraud. Her attorney, Bill Portanova, insists she did not realize the payments were improper and stopped them once confronted, adding that she has fully cooperated with federal authorities and should not be charged. Even with that defense, he acknowledges she is the unindicted co‑conspirator named in the indictment, placing her squarely inside the corruption narrative around Newsom’s team.

New York Post and other reports go further, stating that by June 2024 Podesta was secretly recording conversations for the FBI during the probe into Williamson and the broader political network around the governor. Those stories describe her as a Democratic insider who wore a wire as agents pushed deeper into Newsom’s political orbit, including contacts touching his office and even his family. Informants like Podesta are not random outsiders; they are people already inside the circle who agree to feed information to investigators. That reality makes Newsom’s later claim that she was not “in his orbit” hard to square with the facts on the ground.

Newsom’s “Not In My Orbit” Spin And What It Means For Accountability

Despite appointing Podesta, keeping her on the board through the scandal, and watching his former chief of staff face 23 federal counts, Newsom and his press team now insist that Podesta was not truly “in his orbit” when it comes to the fraud case and the FBI recordings. They argue that her 2020 appointment was appropriate based on her resume and that critics are playing politics with an ongoing investigation. At the same time, his office has declined to explain why she remains on the board while identified in court papers as a co‑conspirator and informant, calling it simply a “personnel matter.”

For everyday Californians, this feels like the same old double standard: powerful insiders stay on cushy public boards while regular citizens would be fired, investigated, or worse for far less. Podesta’s role as an unindicted co‑conspirator, her behind‑the‑scenes wire recordings for the FBI, and her ongoing public paycheck all point to deep entanglement in Newsom’s political circle, whatever talking points come from his press shop. The state’s own records show he put her on the State Compensation Insurance Fund board; federal records show she helped move suspect money; media reports show she secretly taped allies for agents. That looks like “orbit” in plain language.

Why This Matters For Corruption, Taxpayers, And The Rule Of Law

This fight over words comes as part of a wider pattern in California, where appointees tied to corruption probes are framed as “not really part of the governor’s inner circle” so long as they avoid formal charges. Unindicted co‑conspirators keep their posts, keep their pay, and keep influence over policy, while accountability is pushed off to distant prosecutors and vague ethics talks. Taxpayers watch millions flow through campaign accounts, consultants, and government agencies, yet they rarely see real reform or clear answers when things go wrong.

For conservative readers who care about clean government, this case raises serious questions about how deep the corruption runs in the old Sacramento machine and how hard it is to root out insiders once they are embedded in state boards and agencies. The facts now public do not accuse Newsom himself of crimes in this specific scheme, but they do show his appointments and inner circle sitting at the center of a federal fraud case and FBI wiretap operation. That should matter to anyone who wants honest stewardship of taxpayer money and real respect for the rule of law.