Nathan Ballard, a high-profile Democratic strategist and adviser to Gov. Gavin Newsom, was charged with two felony counts of domestic violence after his wife alleged he pushed her into a glass door and attempted to suffocate their 4-year-old daughter with a pillow, Napa County officials said.

The alleged incident occurred on Oct. 17 during a family weekend getaway at the Carneros Resort and Spa. Ballard’s wife, Mara, reported the episode the next day. Nathan Ballard, 51, declined to make a statement to investigators and was placed under arrest on Oct. 20, according to the Napa County Sheriff’s Office.

He was released on $75,000 bail.

In a statement to The Chronicle, Nathan Ballard said he’s spent his career in crisis communications “fighting on behalf the wrongfully accused, and now for the first time I really know what it feels like to be in their shoes. I will be exonerated. I love my children more than anything on earth, and we will be reunited.”

More here… https://www.sfchronicle.com/crime/article/Longtime-Newsom-aide-Nathan-Ballard-charged-with-15774264.php