Xavier Becerra accused of violating campaign finance laws in anonymous complaint

Former Attorney General Xavier Becerra, who is now running for governor, is accused of breaking campaign finance laws by using a dormant campaign account to pay his former adviser, Dana Williamson, according to a complaint submitted to the Fair Political Practices Commission obtained by The Sacramento Bee.

The anonymous complaint, which was submitted Monday, cited two instances where Becerra’s dormant state attorney general campaign account paid Williamson’s firm, Grace Public Affairs, a total of $74,228.34 from January 2021 to December 2022, 18 months after he stepped down as attorney general to join the Biden administration as U.S. secretary of Health and Human Services.

Under the state Political Reform Act, campaign funds are considered “surplus” when a candidate leaves office and can only be used to pay outstanding debts, donate to charities or political parties, or to comply with campaign finance laws. Becerra previously said he paid Williamson, his former campaign manager and senior adviser, and later lobbyist Alexis Podesta to make sure his account complied with finance laws but did not know the payments were illegal.

Becerra’s attorney and the FPPC did not immediately respond to requests for comment. In a statement, Becerra campaign spokesperson Jonathan Underland stressed that the FBI had found “no wrongdoing” by Becerra.

“Any attacks from political opponents will get the same level of scrutiny and will lead to the same conclusion: Xavier Becerra did nothing wrong,” Underland said.

Last fall, the FBI arrested Williamson and the U.S. Attorney’s Office charged her, lobbyist Greg Campbell, and Sean McCluskie, Becerra’s former chief of staff, with illegally siphoning campaign funds from Becerra’s Attorney General account to pad McCluskie’s salary after he took a pay cut to follow Becerra to Washington, D.C.

Both Campbell and McCluskie pleaded guilty and are awaiting sentencing. Williamson, who has pleaded not guilty, is discussing a plea deal with prosecutors and has a hearing Thursday.

The federal indictment describes Becerra as a victim, and he has repeatedly said he did not know the payments to Williamson’s firm were fraudulent.

Becerra has emerged as a late Democratic frontrunner in the race to succeed outgoing Gov. Gavin Newsom. In the last month, he has surged in polling and he has picked up endorsements from organized labor groups and support from Newsom’s political team.

His chief rival, Democratic billionaire Tom Steyer, has attacked Becerra for his “corruption scandal.” On Monday, his campaign highlighted two interviews from November and April where Becerra appeared to give conflicting answers about how much he knew about the payments to Williamson.

Becerra told FOX40 three days after the indictment broke that the charges were a “gut punch” and that he was “aware” and had “authorized” the payments to Grace Public Affairs.

Last month, he told CNN and the McClatchy editorial board that the payments occurred “outside his vision” and he had not overseen them.

This story was originally published May 11, 2026 at 11:49 AM with the headline "Xavier Becerra accused of violating campaign finance laws in anonymous complaint."