SACRAMENTO, Calif. (AP) — A top California Democratic political aide pleaded guilty Thursday to charges including conspiracy to commit bank fraud related to a scheme to steal campaign funds from Xavier Becerra when he served as the federal health secretary.
The case has drawn attention to Becerra in his bid for California governor, with voting underway and concluding June 2. Several of Becerra’s rivals blasted him over the scandal at a televised debate Thursday night, trying to make him appear unfit for office. Becerra punched back, noting he hasn’t been implicated.
“Accept the facts,” he said.
Dana Williamson entered the plea in court in Sacramento. In the agreement, she admits to three of the 23 counts of which she was initially charged. Williamson is a former top campaign adviser to Becerra and formerly served as Gov. Gavin Newsom’s chief of staff. Newsom hasn’t been implicated.
The plea deal says the maximum sentence for the bank fraud charge is 30 years in prison and a $1 million fine. But Williamson’s defense attorney, McGregor Scott, said he expected it to be no more than three years based on federal sentencing guidelines. He plans to argue for even less.
The federal indictment alleged that Williamson developed a plan with co-conspirators including Sean McCluskie, a longtime Becerra aide. The scheme was to siphon money from one of Becerra’s dormant state campaign accounts to give to McCluskie to pad his salary after he accepted a job as Becerra’s chief of staff in Washington.
McCluskie signed a plea agreement Oct. 30 in which he admitted to one count of conspiracy to commit bank fraud and wire fraud, according to court filings. He agreed to pay back the $225,000 he took from the account.
Scott said McCluskie dreamed up the theft scheme because he was facing financial difficulties and Williamson joined because she wanted to help him out of a tough spot.
“She was simply trying to help a friend in a pinch as best she could,” Scott told reporters.
Becerra is a former member of Congress who was appointed California attorney general in 2017 to fill a vacancy and reelected in 2018 with Williamson running his campaign. Former President Joe Biden later appointed him as secretary of Health and Human Services.
Becerra hasn’t commented on Williamson’s plea deal. In November, he said the “accusations of impropriety by a long-serving trusted adviser are a gut punch.”
Williamson is a longtime Democratic power player in Sacramento known for her savvy and aggressive style, often unafraid to spar publicly and privately with those who disagree with her. She was a Cabinet secretary for former Gov. Jerry Brown before opening her own political affairs firm and later rejoining state government as Newsom’s chief of staff.
The indictment accused Williamson of filing fraudulent tax forms for her business from 2021 to 2023 claiming more than $1 million in business deductions for personal expenses, including luxury handbags and jewelry; private jet travel; vacations in Mexico; installation of a home HVAC system; and several hundred thousand dollars paid to various relatives for fake jobs.
