Washington, D.C. — This week, Donald Trump’s Justice Department opened a new front in its war on political opponents, targeting California Governor Gavin Newsom, his wife, and her nonprofits. A civil rights leader called out the Southern Poverty Law Center prosecution for what it is: a coordinated attack on advocacy groups, backed by a financial pressure campaign from Wall Street giants. And the nonprofit sector is pushing back against Trump’s smear campaign by reminding Americans just how much of their daily lives depends on organizations Trump is trying to destroy.
Trump’s DOJ Targets Gavin Newsom, His Wife, and Her Nonprofits with Bogus Investigation Because Trump is Tired of Being Mocked
California Governor Gavin Newsom revealed this week that Donald Trump’s Justice Department is investigating him and his wife, with federal agents knocking on the doors of family friends and former employees, all in search of a nonexistent crime. The U.S. Attorney’s Office has obtained the Newsoms’ bank records as part of a probe into the nonprofits connected to the couple. Newsom said Trump is targeting him because he is “considering running for President” and “hates that I’ve consistently called him out.”
For years, Republicans in Congress dined out on the fictional “government weaponization” under the previous administration. Now, Trump’s DOJ is going after a sitting governor and top political opponent, without a word from James Comer, Jim Jordan, or Mike Johnson.
Maya Wiley Exposes the SPLC Prosecution for What It Is – a Total Crock
Leadership Conference on Civil and Human Rights president Maya Wiley joined journalist John Heilemann’s Impolitic podcast this week and didn’t mince words. Wiley described the Southern Poverty Law Center (SPLC) prosecution as the Trump administration putting “a head on a stake” to advocacy groups, sending a message that continued opposition means persecution.
She also called out the financial pressure campaign running alongside the criminal case. After the indictment, Fidelity, Schwab, Vanguard, and other financial institutions cut off donor-advised fund money to the SPLC, proof of the effectiveness of the strategy.
Wiley put it plainly: the Trump administration has turned the Department of Justice into the Department of “Just Trump.”
Nonprofits Remind America What’s Actually at Stake in Pushing Back Against Trump’s Partisan Weaponization
As Trump’s attacks on the nonprofit sector intensify, a nationwide network of charitable foundations is pushing back with a campaign tied to America’s 250th anniversary, aimed at countering the Trump administration’s lies about nonprofits and civil society organizations. The message is simple: most Americans rely on nonprofits every day and don’t realize it.
Council on Foundations CEO Kathleen Enright pointed out that in a single week, she received an MRI at a nonprofit hospital, attended a nonprofit-affiliated church, and watched her daughter be inducted into an honor society run by a nonprofit. Nonprofits are so woven into American life that people have stopped noticing them. Trump is counting on that. The sector is fighting back.
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