Gavin Newsom said on Monday that Donald Trump directed the US Department of Justice (DoJ) to investigate him and his wife Jennifer Siebel Newsom.

The California governor said in a video statement that federal agents had knocked on the doors of family friends and former employees in recent days as part of an effort to find a crime, demanding records and “abusing the grand jury process”.

“Donald Trump isn’t just coming after me because of my mean tweets, he’s coming after me because I am considering running for president. Because he hates that I have consistently called him out over and over again for his lies and deceit,” Newsom said.

The Guardian has approached the justice department for comment.

In his statement, Newsom pointed to the president’s many political rivals whom his administration has investigated, including James Comey, Letitia James and Tim Walz, among others.

“One by one, anyone who has challenged Donald Trump has ended up on his hit list. And today, I proudly join that list,” Newsom said, pointing out that Trump called for his arrest last year.

But he criticized the administration for investigating his wife.

“You can subpoena my records. You can investigate me. You can harass me,” Newsom said. “Put my name on every and any enemy’s list you have, but leave my wife and family out of your personal vendetta.”

The New York Times reported, citing an unnamed source, the administration has multiple federal investigations into the governor, and one examining Siebel Newsom’s finances.

Siebel Newsom has become a frequent target of the right in recent months as her husband has emerged as an early frontrunner among Democrats for the presidential nomination.

Prominent conservatives have railed against her efforts to champion equal pay and gender equity while columnists have said she was “single-handedly wrecking” Newsom’s presidential ambitions.

Steve Hilton, the Republican candidate for California governor, described the Newsoms as a “grifter family”.

More details soon …