CA Gov Gavin Newsom Sues Fox News

California Governor Gavin Newsom filed a $787 million defamation lawsuit against Fox News in Delaware Superior Court, where Fox News is incorporated. 

The lawsuit centers on allegations that Fox News, particularly host Jesse Watters, falsely claimed Newsom lied about a phone call with President Donald Trump, damaging his reputation.

The dispute stems from a phone call Newsom had with Trump on June 6, 2025, regarding protests in Los Angeles sparked by Trump’s immigration crackdown, which included the deployment of 4,000 National Guard troops and 700 Marines. On June 10, Trump told reporters he spoke with Newsom “a day ago,” implying a call on June 9. 

Newsom denied this, stating their last conversation was on June 6 (late June 6 Pacific Time, early June 7 Eastern Time), and provided phone records to support his claim.

Fox News, through Watters’ show “Jesse Watters Primetime,” aired a segment with a chyron reading “Gavin Lied About Trump’s Call” and a deceptively edited clip of Trump’s statement. Watters questioned, “Why would Newsom lie and claim Trump never called him?” despite showing Trump’s call log, which confirmed the June 6 call. Newsom’s lawsuit alleges that Fox News and Watters deliberately misrepresented the timeline to portray him as a liar, damaging his political standing and voter support. The suit also accuses Fox News of violating California’s Unfair Competition Law through deceptive practices.

Newsom is seeking $787 million in damages, a figure mirroring the $787.5 million Fox News paid in 2023 to settle a defamation lawsuit with Dominion Voting Systems over false 2020 election claims. The lawsuit also requests a court order to prevent Fox News from airing or publishing content claiming Newsom lied about the call. Newsom’s legal team offered to drop the suit if Fox News issues a retraction and Watters delivers an on-air apology, but Fox News has not complied, calling the lawsuit a “frivolous publicity stunt” aimed at chilling free speech.

As a public official, Newsom must prove “actual malice”—that Fox News knowingly or recklessly aired false information. The lawsuit argues that Fox News acted with malice by ignoring Trump’s call log, which corroborated Newsom’s account, and editing Trump’s statement to support a false narrative.

Fox News rleased the following statement over the weekend:  "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.”