By Jonathan Stempel, Reuters
California Governor Gavin Newsom. Photo: AFP
- Newsom says Fox's actual malice smeared reputation
- Trump, Newsom spoke amid immigration crackdown
- Fox to defend against 'frivolous' lawsuit.
California Governor Gavin Newsom has filed a US$787 million (NZ$1.3 billion) defamation lawsuit against Fox News, saying the network defamed him by lying about his phone call with Donald Trump related to the president's immigration crackdown.
The complaint filed in Delaware Superior Court accused Fox 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." Newsom's punitive damages request is nearly identical to the $787.5 million that Fox paid in 2023 to settle Dominion Voting Systems' lawsuit over alleged vote-rigging in the 2020 U.S. presidential election.
The governor is also seeking compensatory damages for harm to his reputation, saying Fox acted with actual malice.
"Enough of their lies," Newsom said in a video posted on X.
In a letter to the network, Newsom's lawyers said he is prepared to drop the lawsuit if Fox retracted the claim he lied about his call with Trump, and if both Fox and host Jesse Watters apologized on-air.
Fox said in a statement: "Governor 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 is a Democrat and potential presidential contender in 2028, and has made several appearances on Fox News.
The network is a favorite of conservatives, and its on-air talent includes many supporters of Trump, a Republican. Its parent, Fox Corp, is incorporated in Delaware.
'Why would Newsom lie'? Fox host asks
According to the complaint, Newsom spoke by phone with Trump for about 16 minutes late on 6 June, or early 7 June Eastern Daylight Time, 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.
Newsom said he did not speak again with Trump, and confirmed this after Trump falsely told reporters on 10 June he had spoken with the governor "a day ago."
The complaint said Fox nonetheless intentionally distorted the facts by making a misleading video clip and multiple false statements about the timing of the last call, in an effort to brand Newsom a liar and curry favor with Trump.
"Why would Newsom lie and claim Trump never called him?" Watters said on 10 June on his show "Jesse Watters Primetime," according to the complaint.
Watters' report was accompanied by a chyron, a banner caption along the bottom of a TV screen, that said "Gavin Lied About Trump's Call," the complaint added.
According to the complaint, Fox's claim that Newsom lied was "calculated to provoke outrage and cause Governor Newsom significant harm," by making people less likely to support his causes, donate to his campaigns, or vote for him in elections.
Newsom's lawyers said it was "perhaps unsurprising" that the 79-year-old Trump might confuse the dates, but Fox's decision to cover up the error "cannot be so easily dismissed."
Trump's defamation lawsuits
To prevail in the lawsuit, Newsom would have to show Fox acted with actual malice, meaning it knew its statements were false or had reckless disregard for their truth.
The standard comes from New York Times v. Sullivan, a landmark 1964 US Supreme Court decision.
Trump has also turned to the courts to address perceived defamation by news networks. He reached a US$15 million (NZ$25 million) settlement with Walt Disney-owned ABC last December after suing over an inaccurate claim that a jury found him liable for rape, rather than sexual assault, in a civil lawsuit.
Trump also sued CBS for US$20 billion (NZ$33 billion) over its editing of a "60 Minutes" interview with 2024 Democratic presidential candidate Kamala Harris. A mediator has reportedly proposed a US$20 million (NZ$33 million) settlement with CBS' parent Paramount Global.
- Reuters
