California’s Bold Stand: Governor Newsom Takes on Fox News in Explosive Trump Call Defamation Lawsuit!
California Governor Gavin Newsom has filed a lawsuit against Fox News, seeking at least $787 million in damages for alleged defamation related to misleading statements about a phone call with former President Donald Trump. Newsom announced the lawsuit on social media, asserting, “No more lies.” The complaint was officially filed in a Delaware Superior Court, home to Fox News’s incorporation.
The financial sum Newsom is demanding closely resembles the settlement Fox Corp. reached with Dominion Voting Systems earlier this year, which amounted to $787 million in a defamation lawsuit concerning false claims about voting technology influencing the outcome of the 2020 presidential election.
Central to Newsom’s lawsuit are comments made by Fox News anchor Jesse Watters, who suggested that Newsom was lying about not having a call with Trump in early June. The suit claims that Fox News purposefully misrepresented facts to align with Trump, who has publicly critiqued Newsom over the deployment of California National Guard troops in response to protests linked to immigration enforcement policies.
In addition to defamation, the civil complaint alleges that Fox News harbors significant animosity towards Newsom for his strong progressive stance and vocal opposition to the network’s agenda. Newsom’s attorneys expressed willingness to withdraw the lawsuit if Fox retracts its claims regarding the supposed phone call and issues a formal 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 stated, underscoring his commitment to transparency in journalism. “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 response, Fox News characterized Newsom’s actions as a “transparent publicity stunt” intended to stifle free speech. The network affirmed its intention to vigorously defend against the lawsuit and expressed confidence in its dismissal.
The lawsuit details that Newsom and Trump spoke for approximately 16 minutes around June 6 or 7. Although the specifics of their conversation are deemed irrelevant to the lawsuit, Newsom contends that Trump did not address the Los Angeles protests or the National Guard during that call.
Moreover, the suit highlights that upon learning of Trump’s claim that he had spoken to Newsom “a day ago,” the governor quickly refuted the assertion, stating, “There was no call. Not even a voicemail,” on the platform X. On June 10, Watters aired an edited segment that omitted Trump’s context, questioning why Newsom would deny the call, further implying dishonesty on the governor’s part.
Fox News’s portrayal of Newsom as a liar, according to the lawsuit, was a deliberate choice to curry favor with Trump rather than uphold journalistic standards. “Rather than leave the matter alone, or simply provide the facts, Fox News chose to defame Governor Newsom,” the legal document states, positioning the case within a broader discourse on media accountability.
As the story unfolds, it underscores the tensions between political figures and media outlets, particularly in an age where public trust in journalism remains critical.
Original Source: https://www.cnbc.com/2025/06/27/newsom-fox-news-lawsuit-defamation.html
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Publish Date: 2025-06-28 05:33:00
