Xavier Becerra defends himself in California political corruption scandal: 'Happened outside of my vision'

Lia Russell, The Sacramento Bee on Apr 8, 2026

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SACRAMENTO, Calif. — Former Attorney General Xavier Becerra, now running for governor, defended his judgment when asked if he should have known that his former chief of staff, Deputy Attorney General Sean McCluskie, had stolen campaign funds from him.

Last fall, the U.S. Attorney’s Office in Sacramento charged McCluskie, former Gov. Gavin Newsom aide Dana Williamson, and lobbyist Greg Campbell with conspiring to steal $225,000 from Becerra’s campaign accounts after McCluskie took a pay cut to follow Becerra to Washington, D.C. when Becerra became Secretary of Health and Human Services.

“First and foremost, we are all accountable for our actions and no one is above the law,” Becerra said during an endorsement interview with the McClatchy Editorial Board on Wednesday. “This was done completely outside of my vision and in fact, outside the vision of my attorneys for the campaign accounts.”

He went on to say that he had never met some of the people charged, and that during his tenure as HHS Secretary, under former President Joe Biden, he helped mitigate the worst effects of the pandemic.

“So how will they (voters) judge whether I’m accountable or not, whether I can be trusted? Well today, none of you are having to wear masks and most of us are living as we did before COVID hit,” Becerra said. “That was because we worked hard to make sure we were accountable and saved lives, made sure that you had the vaccines, the treatments, the PPE that we all needed.”

Becerra, who was not charged with any wrongdoing, has cooperated with the federal investigation, which began under the Biden administration. McCluskie has pleaded guilty and is awaiting sentencing.

Becerra is one of eight Democrats and two Republicans running to replace Newsom as governor of California. The primary is June 2, after which the top two voter-getters will advance to the general election on November 3. Since The Sacramento Bee first reported the FBI probe last November, he has struggled to break out of the field. A recent poll commissioned by the California Democratic Party showed Becerra drawing 4% of voters’ support, tied with former Los Angeles Mayor Antonio Villaraigosa and San Jose Mayor Matt Mahan.

Becerra previously told Fox40 it was a “gut punch” to learn that investigators had accused McCluskie, his aide of 20 years, of stealing from him. Federal prosecutors claimed McCluskie concocted a plan with Williamson to falsify records for a “no-show job” for McCluskie’s spouse and funneled money from Becerra’s account, which were under the control of Williamson and later, lobbyist Alexis Podesta, to McCluskie.

Campbell assisted in the scheme, which ultimately led to authorities charging McCluskie, Campbell and Williamson with 18 counts of bank and wire fraud, each of which carry a maximum penalty of 20 years in prison and up to $250,000 in fines. Podesta cooperated with the investigation and is an unindicted co-conspirator, according to her attorney Bill Portanova. Like McCluskie, Campbell pleaded guilty and is awaiting sentencing after he shut down his consulting firm in the wake of his indictment last October.

Williamson, a sharp-elbowed political operative before joining Newsom’s office in 2022, is separately charged with five additional charges of falsifying tax returns and lying to the FBI. She has pleaded not guilty and her case is scheduled for a court hearing next week.

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