India, Aug. 1 -- Gavin Newsom's purported "release" of his long-anticipated tax returns has been criticized as a mockery of transparency, as the governor discreetly provided the documents to selected news organizations.

The backlash comes days after Ruby Rippey, a former aide to Newsom, publicly disclosed the complete details of their affair, which occurred over twenty years ago during Newsom's tenure as the mayor of San Francisco.

Despite his commitment to disclose four years of tax records, The California Post has uncovered that the governor allowed only a limited number of preferred media outlets to examine 718 pages of documents, while prohibiting them from making any copies.

Newsom, who is presently under a potential corruption in...