A California judge ruled Friday that a wrongful termination lawsuit against Gov. Gavin Newsom and one of his top appointees can move forward, clearing the way for potentially damaging discovery ahead of the governor’s expected 2028 presidential bid.
Former Brigadier General Jeffrey Magram, once a top commander in the California National Guard, alleges Newsom “facilitated and ratified” an anti-Semitic campaign that led to his ouster in 2022, The Washington Free Beacon reported.
The campaign, Magram says, was orchestrated by Adjutant General Matthew Beevers — a Newsom appointee accused of referring to a Jewish subordinate as a “kike” lawyer during a private conversation with another state official.
Sacramento Superior Court judge Richard K. Sueyoshi rejected the Newsom administration’s motion to dismiss most of Magram’s lawsuit, allowing six of eight counts to proceed. The ruling will force state officials to hand over documents and sit for depositions that Magram says have been stonewalled since he filed suit in January.
“This is a victory for accountability,” Magram told the Washington Free Beacon. “We are very much looking forward to the facts coming out in this case and for the truth to be heard by all.”
Magram claims he was targeted after defending a fellow Jewish officer from Beevers’s alleged slurs and harassment. He says he repeatedly warned the governor’s office in letters that Beevers was waging a “personal vendetta” driven by “bigoted beliefs,” but Newsom ignored his pleas and later approved his termination.
Magram’s firing cost the state one of its most experienced firefighting leaders at a time when wildfires were tearing through large parts of California, according to the Free Beacon. His personnel file contains repeated commendations for saving lives and managing major disaster responses.
The Newsom administration has consistently defended Beevers. In December 2022, the governor ordered an investigation into allegations that Beevers called Major General Jay Coggan a “kike” lawyer. The inquiry was closed weeks later by the California Military Department Inspector General, citing a technicality — Baldwin, the official who heard the remark, had not filed a written complaint with himself.
Despite that, Beevers was later promoted to lead the California National Guard in May 2023.
Newsom spokesman Izzy Gardon told the Free Beacon last year that the anti-Semitism allegations “were thoroughly and independently investigated … and were found to be fully unsubstantiated.”
Beevers has justified Magram’s dismissal by citing a 2021 U.S. Air Force inspector general report that accused the general of misusing subordinates for personal errands. Magram calls the report flawed and politically motivated, noting that he was on official orders during most of the alleged incidents and that key witnesses had conflicts of interest.
Beevers wrote in a June 2022 memo that the report caused him to “lose faith” in Magram’s leadership. But years of officer performance reviews tell a different story — describing Magram as a dedicated commander whose actions repeatedly “saved lives” and bolstered California’s wildfire response.
The case now heads into the discovery phase, where Newsom’s communications and internal records may be subpoenaed. Political analysts say the timing could prove perilous for a governor preparing for a national campaign built around competence, unity, and progressive leadership.