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Two men accused of conspiring with Gavin Newsom's ex-chief of staff to steal funds from a dormant campaign account appeared in court. They initially pleaded not guilty but plan to change their plea. #GavinNewsom #PoliticalCorruption #Sacramento #FederalCourt #Conspiracy
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New tonight, the two men accused of
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co-conspiring with Governor Gavin
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Newsome's former chief of staff to steal
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money appeared in federal court today.
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Yeah. Prosecutors say they siphoned
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funds from a dormant campaign account
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belonging to former US health and her
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human services secretary Javier Bera.
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ABC 10's Becca Hober joins us now live
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outside the federal courthouse in
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downtown Sacramento. And Becca, we
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understand both men have entered into
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plea agreements, right?
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Yeah, that's right. You know, to be
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clear, neither Governor Nuome nor Javier
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Bera have been accused of any wrongdoing
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in this case. Now, I was inside the
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federal courtroom earlier today where
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cameras are not allowed. So, we'll start
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by showing you what happened here
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outside the courthouse.
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Any comment on how this erodess the
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public's trust in the workings of
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government?
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Lobbyist Greg Campbell is one of two
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alleged co-conspirators named in the
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indictment of Dana Williamson. She's the
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former chief of staff to Governor Gavin
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Newsome. She, Campbell, and Shawn
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McCcluskey, he's the former chief of
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staff for then US Health and Human
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Services Secretary Javier Bera, are
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accused of conspiring in a scheme to
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steal approximately $225,000
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from a dormant campaign account of
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Baseras. A fourth co-conspirator, Alexis
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Podesta, is not charged in the case, and
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her attorney says she was unaware the
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payments in the case were fraudulent and
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is cooperating with investigators. In
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federal court Friday, Campbell and
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McCcluskey pleaded not guilty for now,
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but their attorneys told the judge they
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plan on changing their p to guilty at a
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future court date per a plea agreement
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each made with federal prosecutors. Both
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men face a charge of conspiracy to
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commit bank fraud and wire fraud.
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Campbell faces an additional charge of
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conspiracy to defraud the United States
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and to commit offenses against the
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United States. Shouldn't Sarah know
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anything about any of this?
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McCcluskey and his attorney declined to
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comment Friday.
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Comment on how these allegations are.
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Here's what Campbell's attorney said to
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journalists after court.
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I know Greg Campbell to be an honorable
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former public servant, a respected and
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positive member of the community. Mr.
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Campbell takes full accountability for
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his actions and is cooperating fully
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with the legal process.
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Now, coming up at 6:30 on To the Point
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with Alex Bell, we hear from Capitol
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Weekly editor-inchief Rich Eisen about
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how allegations like this rock the
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political community and erode the
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public's trust in the political process.
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For now, I'm Becca Hobberger live in
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downtown Sacramento for ABC 10.
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We'll look forward to that part of the
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story. Our Becca Haber has been
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following this from the very beginning.
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Becca, thank you.