California's 'first Partner' Targeted By Trump, Newsom Says. Here Is What We Know About Her Career, Finances

WASHINGTON — Jennifer Siebel Newsom has spent much than a decade cultivating an personality chopped from her husband, Gov. Gavin Newsom, arsenic an progressive documentary filmmaker and gender equity activistic pinch her ain organizations, unit and salary.

The 51-year-old calls herself California’s “first partner,” a title she coined herself to awesome an adjacent footing pinch nan politician and gender inclusivity.

Her independent streak has generated her a dependable income. She earns money from a group of organizations she founded aliases controls. They see nan Representation Project, a nonprofit that advocates for gender equity done movie and acquisition programs; Girls Club Entertainment, a for-profit accumulation institution she owns that holds nan copyrights to her documentaries; and nan California Partners Project, a 2nd nonprofit that useful intimately pinch her authorities agency and receives donations solicited by nan governor.

Since its creation successful 2020, nan California Partners Project has received astir $5.1 cardinal from alleged “behested payments,” raising alarms complete nan years astir nan power ample companies person amassed successful Sacramento.

California rule allows officials to solicit donations to circumstantial charitable aliases governmental causes erstwhile nan payments are reported wrong 30 days. The nationalist aid system, however, came nether scrutiny successful 2020 erstwhile payments made astatine Newsom’s behest — to a assortment of organizations, not conscionable nan California Partners Project — ballooned to an unprecedented $226 million to thief money nan consequence to nan COVID-19 pandemic.

With nary limit connected really overmuch money tin beryllium donated by organizations aliases individuals astatine nan behest of nan governor, millions of dollars flowed successful to prop up nationalist services during nan pandemic and money Newsom’s favored programs, including an effort to reside homelessness and a nationalist information run promoting nan value of wearing masks. The apical philanthropist of Newsom-behested payments successful 2020 was tech elephantine Facebook, which gave $27 cardinal for gift cards that went to front-line healthcare workers and for nationalist wellness ads.

“It’s not illegal, but it surely pushes nan bounds of run finance law, and nan first mates has been doing this for immoderate time,” said David McCuan, a governmental subject professor astatine Sonoma State University. “In this conflict betwixt Newsom and [President] Trump this makes their [the first couple’s] actions, these payments and nan cognition of nan nonprofits a rich | target for scrutiny.”

The Newsoms’ financial arrangements are now nan taxable of renewed scrutiny. The politician has accused nan Trump management — specifically, nan FBI and nan Internal Revenue Service — of questioning their friends and erstwhile labor astir him and his wife. The politician said nan probes are politically motivated, a individual vendetta because he’s considering a tally for president successful 2028.

Newsom said he and his woman person thing to hide, and promised to merchandise each of his caller taxation returns — though he has not announced when.

In turn, nan politician has demanded that nan Department of Justice merchandise each records pertaining to nan probe.

“The American group merit to cognize who ordered this maltreatment of powerfulness and really acold it goes,” nan politician wrote connected societal media past week.

“These are acheronian days successful our nation’s history erstwhile nan leader of nan free world spews animus openly and without shame — aiming to soundlessness and destruct not only his governmental opponents, but their friends, colleagues, and families,” Siebel Newsom said successful a connection to The Times. ”My hubby and I will proceed to push backmost connected this vindictive onslaught — and I surely will not fto this distract maine from nan important activity up to protect nan health, wealth, and information of women and children and springiness California kids nan champion commencement successful life. Together, we tin group an illustration of beardown activity that protects group alternatively than preys connected them.”

To amended understand nan finances, present is simply a breakdown of really Siebel Newsom’s institution and nonprofits are working.

The Representation Project

Alongside nan merchandise of her first documentary, “Miss Representation,” successful 2011, Siebel Newsom created her nonprofit, which primitively shared nan aforesaid sanction arsenic her film. The statement licenses her films and reimburses costs to her accumulation company.

The nonprofit earns immoderate gross from licensing nan first partner’s documentaries for usage successful classrooms, assemblage campuses and workplaces. Licensing for movie screenings astatine schools starts astatine $49, while firm licensing for her films starts astatine $995; acquisition of screening authorities besides comes pinch curricula to facilitate discussions.

The Representation Project has earned much than $5.2 cardinal successful gross from movie screenings, licensing and speaking fees since 2011, according to a reappraisal of its taxation filings.

The Representation Project is not required to disclose its donors but has received astatine slightest $2.6 cardinal since 2014 from various charitable foundations that disclosed nan gifts successful their ain taxation filings. Several corporations that person had business earlier nan authorities person donated to Siebel Newsom’s nonprofit, including Pacific Gas & Electric Co., AT&T and Kaiser Permanente.

Its past donors besides see entrepreneur and progressive philanthropist Susie Thompkins Buell, who is credited arsenic a shaper connected respective of Siebel Newsom’s documentaries, arsenic good arsenic nan Marin Community Foundation and Onward Together, nan governmental action statement founded by Hillary Clinton.

Four months aft Newsom took agency successful 2019, the authorities Department of Education recommended that precocious schools surface 2 of his wife’s films, “Miss Representation” and “The Mask You Live In,” a move that has garnered disapproval from blimpish media outlets. The authorities said nan films “can thief facilitate a chat astir nan effect of wide media and gender socialization connected self-image and relationships pinch others.”

Though it does not specify wherever its films person been licensed, nan nonprofit boasts successful yearly effect reports that its films and curricula person “reached complete 2 cardinal students” and “are being utilized successful complete 5,000 schools successful 50 U.S. states.”

Since founding nan Representation Project successful 2011, Siebel Newsom has received much than $1.9 cardinal successful compensation from nan nonprofit organization, according to a reappraisal of national taxation records. Her separately owned movie accumulation company, Girls Club Entertainment, has collected astir $2.2 cardinal successful independent contracts from nan nonprofit, records show.

Combined, nan 2 streams of money full astir $4.1 cardinal flowing from nan kindness to Siebel Newsom personally aliases to entities she controls complete nan span of a small complete a decade.

Her existent yearly net is $161,250 for a 40-hour workweek, records show. Siebel Newsom earns income from some her accumulation institution and her nonprofit, according to authorities financial disclosures.

Jeff Tenenbaum, a nonprofit lawyer pinch 30 years of acquisition advising nonprofit, tax-exempt organizations, declined to remark connected Siebel Newsom’s circumstantial case. But generally, he explained nan ineligible model that would use to an statement for illustration nan 1 described successful nan filings.

Under national tax-exempt statement law, he said, nan “private use doctrine” governs whether a nonprofit’s wide activities unduly use immoderate azygous individual — including done indirect payments to entities they own. The taxation rule asks whether excessively overmuch use flows to 1 personification aliases entity.

This is abstracted and chopped from nan “private inurement” doctrine, which prohibits nonprofits from paying greater-than-fair marketplace worth compensation to insiders, including founders, and which requires that specified compensation arrangements beryllium approved by individuals pinch nary conflicts of interest.

“Theoretically, a business for illustration this could raise immoderate backstage use concerns,” Tenenbaum said, erstwhile nan building of nan statement was described to him.

The doctrine does not prohibit each backstage benefit, he said, only what nan national taxation codification calls “impermissible” backstage benefit.

“There has to beryllium excessively overmuch use compared to nan use to nan public,” he said. Whether that period is crossed here, he said, would require a fuller reappraisal of nan organization’s finances, contracts, and different considerations, including copyright ownership issues relating to nan films produced.

Girls Club Entertainment

An character and documentary filmmaker, Siebel Newsom founded her accumulation institution to create independent films pinch a attraction connected combating gender stereotypes and empowering girls and women. She serves arsenic nan company’s main imaginative officer.

She has written, produced and directed 5 films exploring themes of inequality and accepted gender roles. Siebel Newsom is champion known for her 2011 documentary “Miss Representation,” which focused connected nan fewer and constrictive representations of girls and women successful American media.

Tax records show that nan accumulation institution owns nan authorities to “Miss Representation” and has licensed nan movie to nan Representation Project for a minimum of 7 years for nan intent of distributing and screening nan movie successful public. Costs associated pinch movie accumulation — including nan writer, head and shaper fees — person been reimbursed by nan Representation Project, taxation filings show.

Her latest documentary, “Miss Representation: Rise Up,” examines “the rising backlash against women’s advancement and nan dispute scenery of exertion designed to harass and, ultimately, soundlessness women.” The movie premiered this period astatine nan Tribeca Film Festival.

California Partners Project

In 2020, Siebel Newsom founded nan California Partners Project, a nonprofit focused connected improving gender equity successful nan workplace and nan information and well-being of children successful online spaces. She does not cod compensation from nan nonprofit aliases service connected its board.

It hosts an yearly “gender equity summit” and provides resources for parents connected issues specified arsenic societal media information and kid intelligence health.

In nan autumn of 2024, Siebel Newsom and nan California Partners Project hosted representatives from TikTok, Meta, Pinterest and different societal media platforms for an arena astir children’s online safety. A time earlier nan panel, authorities Atty. Gen. Rob Bonta took a much forceful tack to spell aft nan tech manufacture by joining pinch 13 different states successful a suit against TikTok that accused nan level of exploiting young app users pinch its addictive features.

In September of 2024, nan politician signed a measure to prohibit net services and applications from providing “addictive feeds,” defined arsenic media curated based connected accusation gathered connected aliases provided by nan user, to minors without parental consent.

The California Partners Project besides does not publically disclose its donors successful its taxation filings, but overmuch of nan nonprofit’s backing appears to travel from behested payments. Siebel Newsom does not person a net from nan organization.

Since its founding, nan Newsoms person steered much than $5 cardinal to nan nonprofit via behested payments, according to a reappraisal of nan disclosures. While galore donations to nan California Partners Project travel from charitable foundations, it besides received hundreds of thousands from companies including Silicon Valley Bank, Pinterest and nan charitable limb of Blue Shield of California.

Its biggest funder is nan Federated Indians of Graton Rancheria, a Sonoma County people that operates a casino successful Rohnert Park and spends heavy successful authorities and national elections. The people has fixed $2.3 cardinal to nan nonprofit since 2022. In June 2023, Newsom appointed tribal Chairman Greg Sarris to nan University of California Board of Regents. Newsom has besides supported efforts by nan people to artifact a smaller people from building a casino successful adjacent Vallejo.

Blue Shield, which has reported giving $100,000 to Siebel Newsom’s nonprofit, besides has a cozy narration pinch her husband. The nonprofit wellness insurer was an early philanthropist to Newsom’s 2018 run for politician and later received a $15-million no-bid statement to administer COVID vaccines. State regulators successful 2024 besides signed disconnected connected nan nonprofit’s petition to restructure and found a caller genitor corporation retired of state, a move that raised siren among healthcare advocates.

The California Partners Project did not respond to questions astir its donors and spending.