The governor of California, Gavin Newsom, has sued Fox News for defamation and demanded $787m, almost exactly the same amount Fox paid in a previous defamation case over election misinformation.
In the new lawsuit, filed on Friday, Newsom accuses the Fox host Jesse Watters of falsely claiming Newsom lied about a phone call with Donald Trump, who recently ordered national guard troops into Los Angeles.
Newsom’s attorneys say Watters aired a deceptively edited clip of Trump suggesting he spoke with the governor just before the military deployment, when in fact records show the call occurred days earlier, on 7 June. The lawsuit alleges that Fox manipulated the footage to push a false narrative that Newsom had misled the public.
Trump had told reporters on 10 June he had spoken with Newsom “a day ago”, appearing to imply a conversation occurred on the same day that 700 US marines were deployed to LA.
Newsom denied Trump’s claim, writing on X minutes later: “There was no call. Not even a voicemail. Americans should be alarmed that a President deploying Marines onto our streets doesn’t even know who he’s talking to.”
The lawsuit says that Fox’s own reporting confirmed Newsom’s version. While Watters aired Trump’s edited quote and asked viewers “Why would Newsom lie?”, the host simultaneously showed a screenshot of Trump’s call history, which confirmed the most recent call was 7 June.
Newsom’s complaint also accuses the network of violating California’s Unfair Competition Law by engaging in deceptive business practices.
The damages sought mirror the $787.5m Fox paid Dominion Voting Systems in 2023 to settle a separate defamation case over election misinformation.
“If Fox News wants to lie to the American people on Donald Trump’s behalf, it should face consequences – just like it did in the Dominion case,” Newsom told Politico in a statement. “Until Fox is willing to be truthful, I will keep fighting against their propaganda machine.”
The governor’s team told Politico that they would drop the case if Fox retracts the claims and Watters issues an on-air apology. Newsom said legal costs would come from his campaign funds, and that if the case is successful the proceeds will go to support anti-Trump causes.
A Fox News spokesperson said: “Governor Newsom’s transparent publicity stunt is frivolous and designed to chill free speech critical of him. We will defend this case vigorously and look forward to it being dismissed.”
Trump has had his own legal battles with media outlets. He recently secured a $15m settlement from ABC over comments made by George Stephanopoulos, and he has sued CBS over alleged interview manipulation by its 60 Minutes program during the 2024 campaign, a case which remains unresolved.
