By Jonathan Stempel
(Reuters) -California Governor Gavin Newsom filed a $787 million defamation lawsuit against Fox News on Friday, saying the network defamed him in covering 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.
According to the New York Times, Newsom would drop the lawsuit if Fox issued a retraction and host Jesse Watters apologized on-air for saying the governor lied about his call with Trump.
Fox did not immediately respond to requests for comment. Newsom’s office did not immediately respond to similar requests.
The governor is also seeking unspecified compensatory damages for allegedly smearing his reputation.
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.
‘WHY WOULD NEWSOM LIE’? FOX HOST ASKS
According to the complaint, Newsom spoke by phone with Trump late on June 6 – early June 7, 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 June 10 that he had spoken with the governor “a day ago.”
The complaint said Fox nonetheless made a misleading video clip and multiple false statements about the timing of the last call, acting with actual malice 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 June 10 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.
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 U.S. Supreme Court decision.
Trump has also turned to the courts to address perceived defamation by news networks.
He reached a $15 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 $20 billion over its editing of a “60 Minutes” interview with 2024 Democratic presidential candidate Kamala Harris. A mediator has reportedly proposed a $20 million settlement with CBS’ parent Paramount Global.
(Reporting by Jonathan Stempel in New York and Ryan Patrick Jones in Washington; Editing by Doina Chiacu and Matthew Lewis)
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