Sen. Ruben Gallego on DOJ probe into his campaign spending: ‘They’re afraid of me’

U.S. Sen. Ruben Gallego (D-Arizona) reportedly is the target of a federal probe into alleged campaign finance violations despite being cleared of similar accusations by the Senate Ethics Committee.

Axios reported Monday that the Department of Justice’s investigation into Gallego is based on a whistleblower complaint out of Southern California.

Gallego addressed the report in a video posted to social media on Tuesday.

“So, 30 minutes after the Senate Ethics Committee cleared me from crazy Anna Paulina Luna’s accusations, the DOJ happens to start a probe of some of those same accusations,” he said in the video.

“Let’s be clear: The only reason they’re doing this is because I hold this administration accountable, whether it’s trying to stop Trump’s dirty crypto deals, or trying to stop the Trump brothers and all their dirty deals in Kazakhstan, or to stop the payoffs of all these Jan. 6 insurgents, that’s the only reason they’re targeting me, and they’re afraid of me. But I’m not afraid to fight back.”

Just after a bipartisan Senate investigation cleared me of rightwing smears, Trump’s DOJ made me their latest target.

These corrupt people can come after me all they want. 

They’re afraid. I’m not. And I’ll keep fighting back. pic.twitter.com/5D84XYsVUG

— Ruben Gallego (@RubenGallego) June 30, 2026

Senate Ethics Committee dismissed complaint against Sen. Ruben Gallego

On Friday, the Senate Ethics Committee informed Gallego it had dismissed a complaint filed by U.S. Rep. Anna Paulina Luna (R-Fla.), who accused the Arizona Democrat of campaign finance violations and sexual misconduct.

“Based on the investigation of the Committee, the Committee did not find evidence that your actions violated Federal law, Senate Rules, or related standards of conduct,” the committee said in a letter to Gallego.

Earlier this month, The Daily Beast reported that Gallego used campaign funds to take his wife on trips to St. Barts and Miami and traveling to the Caribbean island for the birthday of her boss, a major Gallego donor.

Gallego explained the spending by saying he used campaign funds to cover childcare costs during travel that involves fundraising, which is permitted by the Federal Election Commission.

“Because of my schedule and the laws passed that allow for it, I will at times bring my wife and children with me to these retreats and fundraisers,” he said in a June 22 post on X. “Are these at nice venues? Yes, it’s where the donors are, and it’s part of campaigning. I know people have opinions on that, but that’s the nature of the campaign system we have in our country.”

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