California Gov. Gavin Newsom sues Fox News for $787 million, alleging defamation

California Gov. Gavin Newsom sued Fox News connected Friday, seeking damages of astatine slightest $787 cardinal from the blimpish web for allegedly defaming him by making misleading comments astir a telephone telephone with President Donald Trump.

"No much lies," Newsom wrote successful a tweet that announced his lawsuit, which the Democrat filed successful Superior Court successful Delaware, wherever Fox News is incorporated.

The monetary damages Newsom is seeking astir precisely lucifer what Fox Corp., Fox News and different Fox cablegram networks agreed to wage Dominion Voting Systems successful April 2023 to settee a Delaware suit alleging they defamed Dominion by falsely claiming its machines swayed the result of the 2020 statesmanlike predetermination against Trump.

Newsom's suit is focused connected comments by Fox News anchor Jesse Waters, who had said Newsom lied astir not having a telephone with Trump connected a definite time successful aboriginal June.

The suit alleges that Fox News was motivated to "lie and distort connected behalf of the President," who has been engaged successful a feud with the politician implicit the deployment of California National Guard troops and Marines to Los Angeles successful effect to protests implicit the Trump administration's migration enforcement efforts.

It besides accuses Fox of harboring "significant sick volition toward Governor Newsom due to the fact that helium is simply a beardown champion of progressive values and an articulate dependable warring the extremist Fox News agenda."

Newsom's lawyers, successful a missive Friday to Fox News, said the politician is prepared to voluntarily disregard his suit "if Fox News retracts the assertion that helium lied erstwhile speaking astir President Trump not calling him connected June 9."

The missive besides demands a "formal on-air apology" from Watters and Fox News successful speech for dismissal of the suit.

 "If Fox News wants to prevarication to the American radical connected Donald Trump's behalf, it should look consequences — conscionable similar it did successful the Dominion case," Newsom said successful a statement.

"I judge the American radical should beryllium capable to spot the accusation they person from a large quality outlet. Until Fox is consenting to beryllium truthful, I volition support warring against their propaganda machine."

Fox News, successful a statement, said "Gov. Newsom's transparent publicity stunt is frivolous and designed to chill escaped code captious of him."

"We volition support this lawsuit vigorously and look guardant to it being dismissed," the web said.

Newsom's suit says the politician and Trump spoke for astir 16 minutes during a telephone precocious June 6, oregon aboriginal June 7, depending connected the clip zone.

"The contents of that speech are not germane to this matter, but astatine nary constituent did President Trump rise the demonstrations successful Los Angeles which had begun that day, nor sermon the National Guard," the suit says.

"And erstwhile Governor Newsom attempted to sermon the concern successful Los Angeles, President Trump steered the taxable away."

The suit notes that days later, connected June 10, Trump astatine a property briefing successful the Oval Office told reporters that helium past spoke to Newsom "a time ago."

The president said helium had called the politician "to archer him, got to bash a amended job, he's doing a atrocious job. Causing a batch of decease and a batch of imaginable death."

Newsom, aft learning of Trump's claim, denied determination had been a telephone connected that day, overmuch little that they discussed the concern successful Los Angeles.

"There was nary call. Not adjacent a voicemail," Newsom wrote successful a station connected the societal media tract X.

Hours aft Trump made his assertion connected June 10, the suit notes, Watters, during an occurrence of "Jesse Watters Primetime," played an edited clip of Trump that removed the president's assertion that helium spoke to Newsom "a time ago."

Watters past reported that Newsom had said determination was nary telephone call.

Watters past noted that Fox News big John Roberts had received Trump's telephone logs, which showed the president and the politician past spoke connected June 6 oregon 7.

"Why would Newsom prevarication and assertion Trump ne'er called him?" Watters asked. "Why would helium bash that?"

A chyron that played connected Watters' amusement said "Gavin Lied About Trump's Call," the suit notes.

The suit says, "Rather than permission the substance alone, oregon simply supply the facts, Fox News chose to defame Governor Newsom, branding him a liar."

"Recognizing that President Trump was not correct, yet wanting to curry favour with the President, Fox News willfully distorted the facts," the suit says.

Correction: Newsom's suit alleges that Fox News was motivated to "lie and distort connected behalf of the President." That punctuation was misstated successful an earlier mentation of this article.