The California Democratic Party is reeling from the arrest of Gov. Gavin Newsom’s former chief of staff in a corruption case involving a top aide to former Health and Human Services Secretary Xavier Becerra.

Neither the term-limited governor nor Becerra, who is running to succeed Newsom, is accused of wrongdoing.

Both have spent the past day distancing themselves from the investigation into Dana Williamson, a longtime political strategist who was Newsom’s chief of staff from early 2023 to November 2024, and Sean McCluskie, who was Becerra’s chief of staff at HHS and his top deputy when Becerra was the state’s attorney general.

Williamson was arrested on Wednesday in Sacramento on allegations of fraud, falsifying her tax returns and other charges, the most serious of which carry sentences of up to 20 years in prison. She pleaded not guilty and was released on a $500,000 bond.

Prosecutors allege in the 23-count indictment that Williamson conspired with McCluskie and others to divert roughly $225,000 from the dormant campaign account of “Public Official 1,” whom the indictment describes in terms that match Becerra, to McCluskie, disguising it as pay for work that never happened.

Williamson is also charged with falsifying and backdating contracts to justify Covid-era loans made to her business under the Paycheck Protection Program, claiming as tax deductions more than $1 million worth of personal expenses, including private jet travel, luxury hotel stays, designer handbags and cash payments to friends and family.

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McCluskie recently entered into a plea agreement and agreed with the facts of the FBI’s investigation. He faces up to five years in prison and a fine of up to $250,000, though he will likely receive lighter punishment because he is cooperating.

“Ms. Williamson no longer serves in this administration,” a spokesperson for the governor said in a statement to MSNBC. “While we are still learning details of the allegations, the Governor expects all public servants to uphold the highest standards of integrity.”

The spokesperson said Williamson was placed on leave as soon as she informed the office last year she was under criminal investigation, adding that the alleged fraud did not take place while she served in the governor’s office.

Becerra said in a statement that the “news of formal accusations of impropriety by a long-serving trusted advisor are a gut punch” and added that he is voluntarily cooperating with the Justice Department in its investigation.