The federal corruption case involving a former chief of staff to Gov. Gavin Newsom returned to court Thursday, where prosecutors confirmed they had sent details of the evidence against Dana Williamson to her defense team.
Williamson, 53, did not appear at the brief hearing in federal court in Sacramento, where she was represented by former U.S. Attorney McGregor Scott, who has taken on her high-profile defense.
She was arrested on Nov. 12 and indicted on charges with bank and wire fraud, obstruction of justice, lying on a tax return and making false statements in connection with a COVID-era federal loan to her company.
Prosecutors have shared 131,899 pages of discovery evidence with Scott’s office, Michael Anderson, the U.S. Attorney’s Office’s Criminal Division Chief, said in court.
Williamson has pleaded not guilty to all 23 counts in the indictment.
On Thursday, Scott briefly addressed reporters outside the Robert T. Matsui U.S. Courthouse downtown, saying he had just begun reviewing the evidence against Williamson that prosecutors had provided.
“It’s one thing for words to be said, allegations made,” Scott said. “Whether they can back it up in the actual evidence is what we’re assessing and determining now.”
Scott, who had criticized the office he once led for arresting Williamson rather than allowing her to turn herself in, said he still disagrees with the way her detention was handled. But he said relations with prosecutors had been cordial since. After Williamson’s very public arrest and appearance in court, Scott said that he believed she was being punished for not offering up dirt on Newsom, her former boss.
On Thursday he said that the government was no longer pressuring her for such information.
“That is water under the bridge a long time ago,” he said.
Williamson is charged with helping to facilitate a scheme to funnel money from a dormant campaign account connected to former U.S. Secretary of Health and Human Services Xavier Becerra to the politician’s then-chief of staff, Sean McCluskie. McCluskie and lobbyist Greg Campbell have each pleaded guilty in the case.
Williamson is also charged with making false statements on her application for a Paycheck Protection Program loan, government-backed funds meant to help small businesses during the pandemic. In his plea agreement, Campbell admitted to back-dating contracts to help Williamson answer questions raised by investigators about her PPP loan.
The government also alleges that Williamson lied on her taxes, claiming an HVAC system for her Carmichael home, a trip on a private plane and luxury items including handbags as business expenses.
Williamson left her job as Newsom’s chief of staff last year after she was interviewed by the FBI.
Scott said he was considering filing a motion demanding that the government break up the case into three parts, because the allegations are all about unrelated incidents. Stacking them together in one indictment could make a jury more likely to believe that Williamson was guilty.
“The government has alleged three separate events in one indictment,” Scott said. “And the case law is pretty good that that could be prejudicial to a defendant.”
The case is due back in court for a status conference Feb. 5, unless a plea agreement is reached before then.
Williamson has liver disease and is awaiting a transplant, Scott said. For that reason, she will not likely attend hearings unless the court is considering significant motions in her case, he said.
This story was originally published December 11, 2025 12:01 PM.
