Looks like California Governor and possible 2024 Democratic presidential hopeful Gavin Newsom has got some explaining to do. Again:
BREAKING: California Governor Gavin Newsom lobbied the White House and Treasury on the bailout of Silicon Valley Bank, without disclosing that his private wineries had reportedly been the bank's clients & he may have even had a personal account at the bank, per the Intercept
— unusual_whales (@unusual_whales) March 15, 2023
The Intercept’s Ken Klippenstein is no right-wing journalist or apologist, so Team Newsom can’t try to downplay this by calling him one.
California Gov. Gavin Newsom has had personal accounts with Silicon Valley Bank for years; three of his wineries are clients.
Also, an SVB president sits on the board of his wife’s charity.https://t.co/MJ72NpBaBH
— Ken Klippenstein (@kenklippenstein) March 14, 2023
Ooo … this sounds pretty juicy! And it is:
On Monday, California Gov. Gavin Newsom praised the Biden administration’s decision to intervene on behalf of Silicon Valley Bank’s clients after the bank was taken over by the FDIC on Friday amid a bank run. The White House “acted swiftly and decisively to protect the American economy and strengthen public confidence in our banking system,” Newsom said in a statement. What Newsom didn’t mention is that it also protected his own companies if they held over $250,000 in deposits.
CADE, Odette, and PlumpJack, three wineries owned by Newsom, are listed as clients of SVB on the bank’s website. Newsom also maintained personal accounts at SVB for years, according to a longtime former employee of Newsom’s who handled his finances, and who requested anonymity to avoid professional reprisal.
“Governor Newsom’s business and financial holdings are held and managed by a blind trust, as they have been since he was first elected governor in 2018,” Nathan Click, a spokesperson for Newsom, told The Intercept in an email.
Newsom also didn’t mention his wife Jennifer Siebel’s professional ties to the bank. In 2021, Silicon Valley Bank gave $100,000 to the charity founded by Siebel, the California Partners Project, at the request of Newsom. John China, president of SVB Capital and responsible for SVB’s funds management, is himself a founding member of the California Partners Project’s board of directors.
Sounds like Newsom didn’t mention a few pretty major things.
https://t.co/Mx7gqQ1pRH pic.twitter.com/AGVhrfMnlR
— Stephen L. Miller (@redsteeze) March 15, 2023
Uh-oh, Gavin.
This should be a non-story unless there are more details. He should have done what he thought was best for constituents, regardless of holdings. Would we criticize a governor for seeking fema aid in a hurricane just because they had a house on the coast?
— Dane Lund (@lund_dane) March 15, 2023
Not necessarily, no. But the thing about Gavin Newsom is that he has a long, proven track record of not giving even half a crap about his constituents. Remember that infamous trip to the French Laundry?
And even leaving the winery stuff aside, that thing about him getting SVB to give his wife’s charity $100,000 seems like the sort of thing he should’ve disclosed on his own when the you-know-what started to hit the fan.
whaaaa noooo https://t.co/rPvZ4pwG4T pic.twitter.com/j4qMBQeFLv
— Sunny McSunnyface (@sunnyright) March 15, 2023
Oh? A conflict of interest?
— Wayne_God (@JustinNowlin6) March 15, 2023
Normal stuff for @GavinNewsom
— William Routt (@askwilliamroutt) March 15, 2023
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Related:
Gavin Newsom takes a swing at ‘GOP’s version of freedom’ & accidentally knocks himself out
Gov. Gavin Newsom tells reporter why guns are bad (while surrounded by armed security)
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