Exclusive | Gavin Newsom spent $57K jetting to Europe on tab of wealthy donors, robotaxi firm

Gov.Gavin Newsom’s ever-cozy relationship with wealthy donors and special interests helped fund $57,000 worth of flights, hotels and meals as he sought to raise his global profile and rub elbows with elites in Davos, Munich and London, according to records obtained by The Post.The overseas trips — which included appearances at the World Economic Forum in Switzerland in January, followed by the Munich Security Conference in Germany and a climate summit in London in mid-February — were financed through the California State Protocol Foundation, a nonprofit that exists to cover the governor’s expenses.Newsom spent more than $26,500 on flights to and from Davos, nearly $6,600 on hotels during his stay and another $600 on food, according to information The Post obtained through a Public Records Act request.The trips to London and Munich remained top tier but a bit less swanky, as Newsom’s flights totaled just over $20,000 and he spent $2,809 on hotels and another $750 on food. The governor’s office declined to provide security costs and itemized receipts for the Eurotrips.Newsom’s unprecedented expansion of behested payments — a controversial practice that allows elected officials to act as an intermediary for unlimited contributions from wealthy donors and special interests, including those with business before the state — drew immediate criticism from Republican gubernatorial candidate Steve Hilton.“It’s just the latest example of the total corruption of our system of government in California,” Hilton told The Post.“The fact that something like behested payments even exists is an insult to every California taxpayer who expects their government to be working for them — not special interests.”One of the Newsom foundation’s biggest recent donors was Zoox, Amazon’s robotaxi company, which contributed $75,000 on Feb.

24.The autonomous vehicle service is looking to join Waymo in winning state approvals that would allow Zoox to expand commer...