Xavier Becerra, center, speaks during a California gubernatorial debate in San Francisco on May 14, 2026.
Godofredo A. Vásquez/Associated Press
After his former aide pleaded guilty in a fraud scheme Thursday, former Health and Human Services Secretary Xavier Becerra said the development puts to rest any suspicions he may be implicated in the case.
“Today confirms what I have said from day one: I did nothing wrong,” Becerra wrote in a statement. “Case closed.”
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But his opponents are fighting intensely to keep the case alive.
Becerra recently vaulted in polls from single-digit support to become the leading Democratic candidate in some surveys after the previous Democratic frontrunner, former Rep. Eric Swalwell, dropped out after the Chronicle reported allegations he sexually assaulted a staffer. That’s put a target on his back.
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Voting is already underway in California for the state’s June 2 primary. Even though the state’s voters are overwhelmingly liberal, Democrats have worried they could be shut out of the general election if the six major Democratic candidates split the vote such that the two leading Republicans outperform them in the primary. Under the state’s jungle primary system, the top two vote-getters, regardless of party, advance to the general election.
At a debate among the seven leading candidates for governor Thursday evening, Becerra was peppered with attacks about the case.
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“Today we learned that he knew about illegal and improper payments from his campaign account to his former chief of staff,” Republican Steve Hilton said. “It pains me to say it because I like you personally, Xavier, but you shouldn’t be on this stage. You shouldn’t be in this race. You should be preparing your criminal defense.”
Becerra laughed off the remark.
“With friends like that, who needs enemies?” he quipped.
But Hilton wasn’t the only one hounding the leading Democratic candidate over the case. Democrat Katie Porter quibbled with Becerra’s defense, saying that just because he hasn’t been implicated in the indictments or plea deals so far doesn’t mean he won’t be charged later. Democrat Tom Steyer said remarks by the former aide’s lawyer after the court hearing Thursday morning suggested Becerra knew about the fraudulent payments. And several of the candidates have also been criticizing Becerra over the case in television interviews, campaign emails and ads.
Dana Williamson, middle, enters the Robert T. Matsui U.S Courthouse in Sacramento, California, where she pleaded guilty to bank fraud, filing a false tax return and lying to the FBI in a corruption scandal, on May 14, 2026.
Renee C. Byer/TNS
The payments at issue were funneled from a dormant Becerra campaign account to his then-chief of staff, Sean McCluskie. Several California political operatives, including McCluskie, have been implicated in this case. Dana Williamson, who served as an aide on Becerra’s California attorney general campaign and later as chief of staff to Gov. Gavin Newsom, pleaded guilty Thursday to participating in the scheme. McCluskie and another political operative, Greg Campbell, have also pleaded guilty.
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In the indictments and plea deals in the case, prosecutors say McCluskie lied to Becerra and told him the payments from his account were being paid to Williamson’s firm for account maintenance work. In fact, they were funneled to McCluskie’s wife, who was not performing any legitimate work for the account. The scheme was designed to increase McCluskie’s pay because he had taken a pay cut and cost-of-living increase to continue working for Becerra in Washington after Becerra left his job as California attorney general to serve in President Joe Biden’s cabinet.
“The charges in this case have been public since November 2025,” Lauren Horwood, a spokesperson for the U.S. attorney’s office, said Thursday. “No candidate that is running for governor has been implicated in any of our charging documents.”
But Williamson’s lawyer provided fodder for Becerra’s opponents Thursday morning when he told reporters that McCluskie had told Williamson “had talked to Becerra on multiple occasions and everything was good to go,” though he cautioned that he did not know what McCluskie had actually said to his boss or whether he was telling the truth.
“I don’t know what Mr. McCluskie told him,” Williamson’s attorney McGregor Scott said. “But the understanding that McCluskie conveyed to my client was that it was OK to proceed.”
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Raheem Hosseini contributed reporting.