California Governor Gavin Newsom is now seeking at least $787 million through a new defamation lawsuit against Fox News.
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The politician took to X (formerly Twitter) to announce the lawsuit. “No more lies,” he wrote. “I’m suing Fox News for $787 million.”
He also linked to an article from Politico that details the new lawsuit. Newsom has accused Fox News of defamation, claiming that the media outlet’s Jesse Watters alleged he lied about his phone calls with President Trump.
The world leader made headlines over his decision to order the National Guard to Los Angeles earlier this month to combat alleged riots that were started during ICE raid protests.
Newsom’s legal team claimed in the lawsuit’s documents that Watters’ program misleadingly edited a video of President Trump to support his claim against Newsom.
The democratic governor is requesting damages nearly identical to the $787 million that Fox News paid to Dominion Voting Systems in 2023 to settle another defamation case.
“If Fox News wants to lie to the American people on Donald Trump’s behalf, it should face consequences,” Newsom told Politico. “Until Fox News is willing to be truthful, I will keep fighting against their propaganda machine.”
Fox News Responds to Governor Gavin Newsom’s Lawsuit
Meanwhile, Fox News issued a statement about Governor Gavin Newsom’s lawsuit, pushing back on the politician’s comments.
“Gov. Newsom’s transparent publicity stunt is frivolous and designed to chill free speech critical of him,” the statement reads. “We will defend this case vigorously and look forward to it being dismissed.”
In the lawsuit, which was filed in the Delaware Superior Court, revealed that Fox News claimed Newsom last spoke to President Trump for approximately 16 minutes by phone on June 7. This was the day before Trump deployed 2,000 California National Guard troops over Newsom’s objections.
President Trump then stated on June 10 that he spoke to Newsom “a day ago.” The statement implied that the conversation took place on the same day 700 U.S. Marines were deployed to the city. Newsom later refuted Trump’s claims.
However, Watters played an edited clip of Trump’s remarks on air. “Why would Newsom lie and claim Trump never called him?” Watters asked. Then he showed a screenshot of the president’s call history, which fellow Fox host Johnson Roberts obtained. The screenshot showed that Trump’s last phone call with Newsom was on June 7, which aligned with the governor’s claim.
Newsom’s attorneys claimed that the on-air moment meets the legal standards for defamation. It also potentially harmed Newsom’s standing with voters in future elections.
“It is perhaps unsurprising that a near-octogenarian with a history of delusionary public statements and unhinged late-night social media screeds might confuse the dates,” Newsom’s lawyers stated. “But Fox’s decision to cover up for President Trump’s error cannot be so easily dismissed.”