Perhaps it\u2019s both.<\/p>\n
Nearly every time Team Trump highlights or prosecutes fraud in California, Newsom reacts by denying, deflecting, and assailing the messenger.\u00a0 <\/p>\n
Instead of ducking the issue, the governor should step up and answer tough questions about how fraud grew so pervasive and entrenched in California on his watch<\/a>.\u00a0<\/p>\n On the heels of federal fraud raids Thursday in Southern California, LA\u2019s top federal prosector told Fox News<\/a> that Newsom has presided over hundreds of billions of dollars in fraud.<\/p>\n Let that sit for a minute.\u00a0<\/p>\n \u201cI call him the fraud king for a reason,\u201d said Bill Essayli, first assistant U.S. attorney for the Central District of California. \u201c\u2026 They\u2019ve not taken fraud seriously for over a decade here in California \u2026 Remember, none of this fraud could happen unless California issued these licenses.\u201d<\/p>\n Poor oversight is one reason California schemers have grown so brazen.<\/p>\n Scammers create faux facilities that bill Medicare (that is, loot federal taxpayers) for end-of-life care for non-terminal or nonexistent patients.\u00a0<\/p>\n Extensive reporting by The California Post has found glaring signs of the hospice hustle, including empty storefronts, offices that don\u2019t exist, and addresses purported to house multiple end-of-life care facilities.<\/p>\n And what is Newsom\u2019s answer to all of this?<\/p>\n \u201cThis is utter bullsh** from top to bottom,\u201d a Newsom spokesperson told The Post. \u201cCalifornia will keep doing its part to go against fraud, we ask the federal government to work with us to do the same.\u201d<\/p>\n \t\t\t\t\t\t\tSign up for the California Morning Report newsletter\t\t\t\t\t\t<\/p>\n \n\t\t\t\t\t\t\tCalifornia’s top news, sports and entertainment delivered to your inbox every day.\t\t\t\t\t\t<\/p>\n \t\t\t\t\t\tThanks for signing up!\n\t\t\t\t<\/p>\n The governor\u2019s press office also wrote this week on X:<\/p>\n \u201cGlad the federal government is finally stepping up to do their part. State has been taking action for years, including suspending 280+ licenses & banning new licenses since 2022. Big question: Will Trump pardon any of them like he\u2019s done for so many fraudsters before?\u201d<\/p>\n None of this indicates a governor who treats the issue seriously.\u00a0<\/p>\n From \u201cutter bullsh** (denial) to \u201ckeep doing its part\u201d (laughable) to \u201cWill Trump pardon \u2026?\u201d (deflection), Newsom\u2019s deploying rhetorical tricks.<\/p>\n The line about suspending 280+ licenses and banning new ones since 2022 at least broaches the issue.\u00a0<\/p>\n But it falls far short of addressing the scandal in a serious and comprehensive way.<\/p>\n How did billions of dollars of fraud occur on Newsom\u2019s watch? And why on his watch and not his predecessor\u2019s?<\/p>\n Why did state agencies \u2014 including the Department of Public Health, which licenses hospices in California \u2014 miss or fail to act on so many obvious red flags?\u00a0<\/p>\n How, in one example, did 89 hospice companies come to be registered to a single building <\/a>in Van Nuys?<\/p>\n If the state has done so much to clean up fraud \u2026 then why is there still so much fraud to clean up?<\/p>\n We have questions, but Team Newsom has few answers<\/a>.<\/p>\n Instead, he offers glib attacks, deflection and, of course, indignation.<\/p>\n Essayli said the governor has failed to implement fraud regulations, \u201cbecause he doesn\u2019t want to own the problem!\u201d\u00a0<\/p>\n He does not, indeed.<\/p>\n Newsom may be serious about chasing the presidency.\u00a0<\/p>\n But voters should remember: For years, he wasn\u2019t serious about fraud in California.<\/p>\n By all current signs, he still isn\u2019t.<\/p>\n Download The California Post App, follow us on social, and subscribe to our newsletters <\/p>\n California Post News: Facebook<\/a>, Instagram<\/a>, TikTok<\/a>, X<\/a>, YouTube<\/a>, WhatsApp<\/a>, LinkedIn<\/a> \t\t\t\t\t\t![\"Gavin](\"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ca\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/04\/124979668.jpg\")
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