California Gov. Gavin Newsom sues Fox News for defamation, demands $787M
California Gov. Gavin Newsom filed a lawsuit on Friday accusing Fox News of defaming him through its coverage of a phone call between himself and U.S. President Donald Trump.
The suit seeks US$787 million in damages and a court order prohibiting the outlet from posting or broadcasting segments that say the governor lied about a call he had with Trump in the late-night hours of June 6 and into June 7, reports the Times.
'No more lies,' Newsom wrote in a post on X that announced his lawsuit, which was filed in Superior Court in Delaware, where Fox News is incorporated.
No more lies.
I'm suing Fox News for $787 million.https://t.co/L73VUsPsuB pic.twitter.com/qKoRaxHRDW
— Gavin Newsom (@GavinNewsom) June 27, 2025
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As pointed out by CNBC, the punitive damages sought by Newsom are almost identical to the amount Fox News agreed to pay Dominion Voting Systems in 2023, settling a lawsuit that accused the network of publicizing false election conspiracies that its machines incorrectly counted votes for Trump as votes for former president Joe Biden and swayed the outcome of the 2020 presidential election.
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'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.
This most recent suit centres around Newsom's claim that Fox News host Jesse Watters lied about the timing of the governor's phone calls with Trump during protests in Los Angeles over the president's deportation policies.
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The suit cites Watters' statement, 'Why would Newsom lie and claim Trump never called him?' which he made while Fox ran a chyron that said, 'Gavin Lied About Trump's Call.'
According to the complaint, Newsom spoke by phone with Trump on June 6 into early June 7 — soon after protests broke out in Los Angeles, following federal immigration raids.
Trump later sent National Guard troops and 700 Marines to the state, bypassing the governor.
4:20
LA protests: Newsom accuses Trump of 'reckless escalation' as police lay charges against rioters
Newsom said he did not speak again with Trump, and confirmed this after Trump falsely told reporters on June 10 that he had spoken with the governor 'a day ago.'
The complaint said Fox News nonetheless made a misleading video clip and multiple false statements about the timing of the last call, acting with actual malice in an effort to brand Newsom a liar and curry favour with Trump.
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The complaint accuses Fox News of demonstrating 'willingness to protect President Trump from his own false statements by smearing his political opponent Governor Newsom in a dispute over when the two last spoke during a period of national strife.'
According to the New York Times, Newsom would drop the lawsuit if Fox News issued a retraction and Watters apologized on-air for saying the governor lied about his call with Trump.
The governor is also seeking unspecified compensatory damages for allegedly smearing his reputation.
— With files from Reuters
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