California Gov. Gavin Newsom has launched a state-run website that catalogues criminal convictions and clemency grants tied to President Donald Trump, escalating a digital political feud by using public resources to frame accountability as a system audit. The portal, unveiled Tuesday, tracks individuals linked to Trump who have received pardons or commutations and presents the information in a format resembling a developer bug log, complete with stylized graphics and summaries of criminal cases.
The site's debut coincided with the release of new crime statistics showing declines across California's major cities, a timing Newsom's office said was intentional. According to data published Nov. 3 by the Major Cities Chiefs Association, murders in California's largest urban centers fell 18% year over year, robberies declined 18%, and aggravated assaults dropped 9%.
The website lists what Newsom's team describes as 10 major clemency cases involving Trump associates, including people convicted of crimes ranging from fraud and narcotics trafficking to offenses connected to the Jan. 6, 2021, attack on the U.S. Capitol. The site refers to Trump as the "criminal in chief" and features AI-generated images of individuals such as former Illinois Gov. Rod Blagojevich, former Honduran President Juan Orlando Hernández, and Silk Road founder Ross Ulbricht, each labeled "felon" in red text.
"With crime dropping - again - California is proving what real public safety leadership looks like," Newsom said in a statement. "Meanwhile in D.C., Trump is a felon who surrounds himself with scammers and drug traffickers. We're providing the public with a resource putting the facts in one place so Californians, and all Americans, can see who he elevates and who he protects."
Newsom's office said the portal highlights Trump's use of executive clemency for roughly 1,500 individuals tied to the Capitol riot. According to the governor's staff, some recipients had prior criminal records, while others were later convicted of additional offenses after receiving pardons.
The move reflects an intensifying online strategy by Newsom, who has increasingly used social media, viral imagery, and sharp rhetoric to confront Trump directly. Critics say the approach risks eroding institutional norms by using taxpayer-funded platforms for partisan messaging.
"Newsom's online campaign mocking Trump has clearly been part of his rise in popularity with base Democrat voters," said Rob Stutzman, a Republican consultant critical of Trump. "But by doing so from a taxpayer financed website with state employees, he is agreeing to disregard previous norms for public institutions that Trump has dismantled. Be careful to not become that which you despise."
Others argue the tactic mirrors Trump's own use of government resources and messaging tools. Mike Madrid, a Republican consultant and founder of the anti-Trump Lincoln Project, defended Newsom's approach.
"He's turning the tables completely on Trump. Completely," Madrid said. "The more Trump attacks him, the more Trump's enablers attack him, the stronger he's gonna get ... Do I like the fact that taxpayer dollars are being used this way? No, but that train left the station on January 2017 when Trump took office the first time."
