"Elected officeholders come and go, but the Capitol has a permanent substructure of men and women who do the real, if often hidden, business of retail politics. Those in the community, as some dub it, constantly circulate among its three pillars staff on the public payroll, lobbyists for interest groups, and managers of political campaigns. It's not uncommon for someone to have portfolios in all three."
"The 23-count indictment alleges Williamson who had been Gov. Gavin Newsom's chief of staff until her abrupt resignation a year ago conspired with two other figures to siphon money from a dormant political campaign fund maintained by Xavier Becerra, a former congressman, state attorney general and Biden administration cabinet member. Williamson is also charged with falsifying documents to justify a COVID-era federal business loan, lying to FBI agents and falsely claiming income tax deductions as business expenses for a lavish vacation and purchases of expensive"
"The two men who were charged with Williamson, Sean McCluskie, Becerra's former chief deputy in the California Department of Justice, and lobbyist Greg Campbell, have pleaded guilty. But Williamson insists that she is innocent. It's the juiciest scandal to hit the Capitol since the FBI's undercover bribery investigation, dubbed Shrimpgate, erupted 37 years ago and sent some legislators and lobbyists to prison."
Most Californians probably see the Capitol as a place where governors, legislators and other state officials gather to do the public's business. Elected officeholders come and go, but the Capitol has a permanent substructure of men and women who do the real, if often hidden, business of retail politics. Those professionals circulate among staff on the public payroll, lobbyists for interest groups and campaign managers, often holding multiple roles. Dana Williamson, former Gov. Gavin Newsom's chief of staff, faces a 23-count indictment alleging conspiracy to siphon money from a dormant campaign fund, falsifying loan documents, lying to FBI agents and false tax deductions. Two co-defendants pleaded guilty; Williamson maintains innocence.
Read at www.mercurynews.com
Unable to calculate read time
Collection
[
|
...
]