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The Herald Scotland
8 hours ago
- Politics
- The Herald Scotland
Gov. Gavin Newsom sues Fox News for defamation
Filings in the case repeatedly reference the $787 million settlement Fox agreed to in 2023 with Dominion, a voting machine company, after the news network repeated Trump's claims that the 2020 election was stolen using their equipment. "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 said in a statement provided to USA TODAY. "I believe the American people should be able to trust the information they receive from a major news outlet. Until Fox is willing to be truthful, I will keep fighting against their propaganda machine." In a statement, Fox dismissed the lawsuit as "frivolous." "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." According to the filing, Newsom brought the case after Fox host Jesse Watters and reporter John Roberts claimed he lied about when he last spoke by phone with Trump during June protests in Los Angeles. Newsom's filing claims he last spoke with Trump for approximately 16 minutes by phone on June 7, one day before the president deployed 2,000 California National Guard troops over Newsom's objections to quell protests in Los Angeles. "At no point (on June 7) did President Trump raise the demonstrations in Los Angeles which had begun that day, nor discuss the use of the National Guard," according to the filing. "And when Governor Newsom attempted to discuss the situation in Los Angeles, President Trump steered the topic away," the filing states. Trump told reporters on June 10 he had spoken with Newsom "a day ago," implying a conversation took place the same day he deployed 700 Marines to Los Angeles. Newsom refuted Trump's claim in a post on X, formerly known as Twitter, minutes later, saying "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." Newsom's lawyers argue Watters' program edited a video of Trump to support the president's claim and make Newsom look like he lied about their communication. They also allege that Roberts hedged Trump's words to make it appear that he was talking about the June 7 call and that Newsom was lying. Newsom is suing as an individual, not in his capacity as governor. Newsom's lawyers argue in the filing that the incident meets the legal standard for defamation and potentially harmed the governor's standing with voters in future elections. Additionally, they claim it violated California's Unfair Competition Law, which outlaws "deceptive and unfair business practices."
Yahoo
17 hours ago
- Politics
- Yahoo
California Gov. Newsom sues Fox News for defamation, here's what we know
California Gov. Gavin Newsom has accused Fox News of defamation in a $787 million lawsuit, saying it intentionally misled viewers during immigration enforcement protests in his state. The June 27 filing, brought in a Delaware federal court, says Fox news reporters and hosts incorrectly reported what President Donald Trump said and edited video of Trump's comments to make it appear that Newsom lied about when the two men spoke during the events. Filings in the case repeatedly reference the $787 million settlement Fox agreed to in 2023 with Dominion, a voting machine company, after the news network repeated Trump's claims that the 2020 election was stolen using their equipment. "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 said in a statement provided to USA TODAY. "I believe the American people should be able to trust the information they receive from a major news outlet. Until Fox is willing to be truthful, I will keep fighting against their propaganda machine." In a statement, Fox dismissed the lawsuit as "frivolous." "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.' According to the filing, Newsom brought the case after Fox host Jesse Watters and reporter John Roberts claimed he lied about when he last spoke by phone with Trump during June protests in Los Angeles. Newsom's filing claims he last spoke with Trump for approximately 16 minutes by phone on June 7, one day before the president deployed 2,000 California National Guard troops over Newsom's objections to quell protests in Los Angeles. "At no point (on June 7) did President Trump raise the demonstrations in Los Angeles which had begun that day, nor discuss the use of the National Guard," according to the filing. "And when Governor Newsom attempted to discuss the situation in Los Angeles, President Trump steered the topic away," the filing states. Trump told reporters on June 10 he had spoken with Newsom 'a day ago,' implying a conversation took place the same day he deployed 700 Marines to Los Angeles. Newsom refuted Trump's claim in a post on X, formerly known as Twitter, minutes later, saying '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.' Newsom's lawyers argue Watters' program edited a video of Trump to support the president's claim and make Newsom look like he lied about their communication. They also allege that Roberts hedged Trump's words to make it appear that he was talking about the June 7 call and that Newsom was lying. Newsom is suing as an individual, not in his capacity as governor. Newsom's lawyers argue in the filing that the incident meets the legal standard for defamation and potentially harmed the governor's standing with voters in future elections. Additionally, they claim it violated California's Unfair Competition Law, which outlaws 'deceptive and unfair business practices.' While it is unclear what kind of response the governor's lawsuit against Fox News will have amongst California voters, a recent poll shows his approval rating has dropped for the month of June. The Public Policy Institute of California surveyed 1,591 adults and state residents on a number of issues including the governor's approval, the president's approval and national issues. In the June statewide survey, only 44% of adults and 46% of likely voters approve of Governor's Newsom's job performance. Only 41% of adults and 45% of likely voters approved of the way that the California Legislature is handling its job. The survey also showed only 3-in-10 Californians approved of President Trump. Ernesto Centeno Araujo covers breaking news for the Ventura County Star. He can be reached at ecentenoaraujo@ This article originally appeared on Palm Springs Desert Sun: Gov. Gavin Newsom sues Fox News for defamation, what to know
Yahoo
18 hours ago
- Politics
- Yahoo
Gavin Newsom demanded $787M from Fox News in his defamation lawsuit. The number isn't a coincidence.
Gavin Newsom alleges Fox News defamed him by misrepresenting a call with Trump. He asked for $787 million in damages, echoing the amount Fox News paid to settle Dominion's lawsuit. Newsom's lawsuit also cites a defamation suit Trump filed against CBS. California Gov. Gavin Newsom sued Fox News on Friday, accusing the media company of defaming him by misrepresenting his interactions with President Donald Trump. The figure Newsom demanded in damages might sound familiar: $787 million. That's nearly identical to the $787.5 million that Fox News and its parent company, Fox Corporation, agreed to pay Dominion Voting Systems in 2023 after the media company promoted falsehoods that the election technology company rigged the 2020 presidential election. Dominion's lawsuit was filed in Delaware Superior Court, the same venue where Newsom filed his lawsuit on Friday. Newsom's private lawyers, Michael Teter and Mark Bankston, worked with the same Wilmington-based law firm that Dominion used, Farnan LLP, to file their suit in the Delaware court. Newsom alleges Fox News defamed him by calling him a liar when he denied speaking with President Donald Trump on June 9. Around that time, Trump had sent National Guard troops to Los Angeles over Newsom's objections. Demonstrators had held protests around the city in opposition to the president's immigration policies. At a press conference on June 10, Trump said he spoke to Newsom "a day ago." In fact, Newsom says, they spoke for 16 minutes around midnight on June 7 Eastern time (or June 6 Pacific time), the day Trump first sent the troops. Newsom posted phone records on social media showing the timing of their call. But his lawsuit says Fox News host John Roberts misled readers about the timing in his own social media posts, anyway. The lawsuit also says Jesse Watters, a Fox opinion host, falsely called him a liar. "Why would Newsom lie and claim Trump never called him? Why would he do that?" Watters said, according to the suit. The chyron on the screen at the time read "Gavin lied about Trump's call," the lawsuit says. Newsom's lawsuit says Fox News hasn't learned the lessons of the Dominion lawsuit, and that it misled its viewers for political reasons. "Unfortunately, the past two years have shown that the Dominion settlement did not serve as the deterrent many had predicted, as Fox has continued to launder the stream of false information flowing out of the White House," the lawsuit says. "Gov. Newsom's transparent publicity stunt is frivolous and designed to chill free speech critical of him," Fox News said in a statement. "We will defend this case vigorously and look forward to it being dismissed." Dominion's lawsuit proved embarrassing for Fox News. Depositions and emails obtained by the election technology company during the litigation process showed that then-host Tucker Carlson said he "passionately" hated Trump and that Rupert Murdoch wanted to make the now-president a "non-person" after the 2020 election. The company is also defending a separate pending lawsuit from Smartmatic, another election technology company that says it was defamed, in a New York court. Fox News has denied the allegations in Smartmatic's case, which remains ongoing. The First Amendment makes it difficult for public figures, like Newsom, to succeed in defamation lawsuits. They must prove in court that the defendant acted with "actual malice," meaning the company or person knew they were lying or recklessly disregarded the truth. In a demand letter to Fox News, Newsom's lawyers said he would voluntarily dismiss the lawsuit if the outlet "retracts the claim that he lied when speaking about President Trump not calling him on June 9," and Watters issues an on-air apology. "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 said in a statement. "I believe the American people should be able to trust the information they receive from a major news outlet. Until Fox is willing to be truthful, I will keep fighting against their propaganda machine." Trump himself has sued numerous media outlets, many having been dismissed. Disney settled a lawsuit with him earlier this year, and he is in ongoing settlement discussions with Paramount over a "60 Minutes" episode on CBS News that he says misleadingly edited an interview with Kamala Harris. Trump sued CBS in Texas, alleging it violated the state's consumer protection laws by editing an interview with Kamala Harris in a way he says is misleading. Newsom sued Fox on Friday under a similar California law. He said Fox "intentionally misled the public by purposefully broadcasting a deceptively edited video." "As President Trump has stated in his own complaint, 'News organizations…are responsible for accurately reporting the truth of events, not distorting an interview to try and falsely make their preferred candidate appear coherent and decisive,'" Newsom's lawsuit says, quoting from Trump's. Read the original article on Business Insider
UPI
19 hours ago
- Politics
- UPI
California Gov. Newsom sues Fox News in $787M defamation suit over Trump call
California Gov. Gavin Newsom speaks during the Vogue World: Hollywood Press Announcement in Los Angeles on March 26. Newsom has filed a $787 defamation suit against Fox News. File Photo by Jim Ruymen/UPI | License Photo June 27 (UPI) -- California Gov. Gavin Newsom on Friday filed a $787 million defamation lawsuit against Fox News, alleging misleading comments about his phone call with President Donald Trump. The suit was filed in Superior Court in Delaware, where the news network is incorporated. "No more lies," Newsom posted on X. "I'm suing Fox News for $787 million." The two-sentence message included a report on the lawsuit by Politico. CNBC and The New York Times also obtained the lawsuit. The amount is nearly identical to the $787.5 million Fox News paid Dominion Voting Systems in April 2023 to settle another defamation case over 2020 election falsehoods. The suit alleges Fox News was motivated to "lie and distort on behalf of the President." Earlier this month, prime-time host Jesse Watters claimed Newsom lied about his phone calls with Trump, who ordered National Guard troops to Los Angeles to quell protests in response to the Trump administration's immigration crackdown. Trump invoked a rarely used federal statute, and the federal courts have backed his authority in lawsuits by Newsom. Newsom's lawyers argue a video segment was misleading from Trump about the call. "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. "I believe the American people should be able to trust the information they receive from a major news outlet. Until Fox is willing to be truthful, I will keep fighting against their propaganda machine." Fox News said in a statement: "Gov. 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." Newsom's lawyers said they will drop the lawsuit if Fox retracts its claims and Watters apologizes to him on air. The lawsuit claims Newsom last spoke with Trump for approximately 16 minutes by phone late June 6 or early June 7, depending on the three-hour time difference. This is one day before the president deployed 2,000 California National Guard troops over Newsom's objections to counter protests in Los Angeles. "The contents of that conversation are not germane to this matter, but at no point did President Trump raise the demonstrations in Los Angeles which had begun that day, nor discuss the National Guard," the suit said. "And when Governor Newsom attempted to discuss the situation in Los Angeles, President Trump steered the topic away." On June 8, Newsom spoke about the phone call on MSNBC. Trump told reporters in the Oval Office on June 10 that he spoke with Newsom "a day ago," implying a conversation took place the same day the National Guard and Marines were deployed to Los Angeles. Trump said he had called the governor "to tell him, got to do a better job, he's doing a bad job. Causing a lot of death and a lot of potential death." Newsom refuted there had been a call on that day or the situation in Los Angeles. "There was no call. Not even a voicemail," Newsom wrote in a post on X. "Americans should be alarmed that a President deploying Marines onto our streets doesn't even know who he's talking to." That evening, Watters played an edited clip of Trump that removed the president's claim that he spoke to Newsom "a day ago." Mediaite has posted the segment. Watters then noted Newsom had said there was no phone call. Watters reported Fox News host John Roberts received Trump's call logs, which showed the president and the governor last spoke on June 6 or 7. "Why would Newsom lie and claim Trump never called him?" Watters asked. "Why would he do that?" A chyron said "Gavin Lied About Trump's Call," the suit said. The suit alleges that Trump's call log as proof that Newsom was dishonest when it showed that Trump was incorrect about when the call took place. "Rather than leave the matter alone, or simply provide the facts, Fox News chose to defame Governor Newsom, branding him a liar," the suit said. "Recognizing that President Trump was not correct, yet wanting to curry favor with the President, Fox News willfully distorted the facts." Newsom's lawyers said the report meets the legal standard for defamation and it violated California's Unfair Competition Law, which outlaws "deceptive and unfair business practices." And the news network caused "significant ill will toward Governor Newsom because he is a strong champion of progressive values and an articulate voice fighting the radical Fox News agenda." "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," the lawyers wrote in the lawsuit. "But Fox's decision to cover up for President Trump's error cannot be so easily dismissed." Newsom and Trump have had mainly a contentious relationship. Newsom hugged Trump as the president departed to plan tour wildfire damage in Los Angeles in January. In April, though, Newsom sued him over tariffs. Trump has threatened to withhold funds for education and disaster recovery, and to remove the state's ability to regulate vehicle emissions. In 2023, Newsom participated in a Fox News debate with Gov. Ron DeSantis of Florida. During a briefing Friday in the White House, Trump criticized Newsom after a question about non-registered immigrants. "They don't have a governor in California, they have a man who wants to give away everything to people nobody has seen before," Trump said. "If we didn't go into Los Angeles with the National Guard and be strong and tough you wouldn't maybe have a Los Angeles. So it would be like the rest of California." He also criticized the state's response on the wildfires, and noted he helped bring water from other parts of California. California officials said Trump didn't directly bring water to California wildfires, and his actions didn't have a positive effect on firefighting efforts.
Daily Mail
20 hours ago
- Politics
- Daily Mail
Gavin Newsom sues Fox News for $787 million
However, Trump's remark about when the call took place was omitted from the clip. Watters had flashed a screenshot obtained by Fox News from the White House showing that a 16-minute call between Trump and Newsom took place in the early hours of June 7, or late in the evening on June 6 in California. Watters used it to claim Newsom had 'lied' about Trump's failure to speak with him as anti-ICE riots raged in LA. Newsom had already acknowledged the earlier call, and is now claiming that the Watters segment purposely included deceptive video edits to conceal the fact the two had not spoken 'a day ago.' 'Why would Newsom lie and claim Trump never called him?' Watters asked on his show. In addition to the damages, Newsom is demanding a court order prohibiting Fox News from broadcasting or airing segments that continue to make the claim. The Democrat promised to pull the suit if Watters apologized and Fox News retracted the claim. '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 both the New York Times and Politico in statements sent Friday. 'Until Fox is willing to be truthful, I will keep fighting against their propaganda machine.' The $787 million claim is identical to the settlement Fox forked over to Dominion Voting Systems back in 2023, after the company sued over claims the network's hosts spread lies about its voting machines during the 2020 election. Newsom's office confirmed to the Daily Mail that the governor is pursuing the suit in his personal capacity. Fox News ripped the litigation as a 'publicity stunt.' 'Gov. Newsom's transparent publicity stunt is frivolous and designed to chill free speech critical of him,' a statement from the network said. 'We will defend this case vigorously and look forward to it being dismissed.' Newsom and Trump have been warring since Trump sent military troops to California earlier this month to police anti-ICE protest.
