Revealing yet another attempt by Democrats to silence conservative news outlets, California Governor Gavin Newsom has launched a staggering $787 million defamation lawsuit against Fox News.
The move is a direct attack on right-leaning media that mirrors the network’s previous settlement with Dominion Voting Systems.
Specifically, the liberal governor claims Fox News and host Jesse Watters falsely accused him of lying about calls with President Donald Trump during civil unrest in Los Angeles.
“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.
“Until Fox is willing to be truthful, I will keep fighting against their propaganda machine,” he added.
Newsom filed the lawsuit in Delaware Superior Court, where Fox News is incorporated.
The legal action stems from statements made by Jesse Watters on his show.
The news host questioned Newsom’s honesty regarding phone conversations about National Guard deployments during protests over President Trump’s deportation policies.
“Why would Newsom lie and claim Trump never called him?” Watters asked on his program, which featured a caption stating “Gavin Lied About Trump’s Call.”
The lawsuit claims Fox News used deceptive video editing and false statements to support President Trump’s assertion that he had spoken with Newsom on June 10.
However, Fox provided screenshots from President Trump showing they had actually spoken on June 6 Pacific time and June 7 Eastern time.
Newsom’s legal team alleges Fox concealed the president’s statement that the leaders had spoken “a day ago” and deliberately framed the call log to make Newsom appear dishonest.
Newsom is suing the president in his personal capacity and plans to donate any proceeds to anti-Trump causes.
The Democrat governor has offered to drop the lawsuit if Fox issues a formal retraction and Watters apologizes on air.
The $787 million figure was clearly chosen to match the settlement Fox paid to Dominion Voting Systems in April 2023, suggesting this is more about political theater than legitimate legal issues.
Newsom’s legal team includes Mark Bankson, a lawyer known for high-profile defamation cases, including one against conservative commentator Alex Jones.
“It is perhaps unsurprising that a near-octogenarian with a history of delusionary public statements and unhinged late-night social media screeds might confuse the dates,” Newsom’s legal team asserted.
“But Fox’s decision to cover up for President Trump’s error cannot be so easily dismissed,” it added.
The lawsuit also claims the incident harmed Newsom’s political standing and violated California’s Unfair Competition Law.
Critics of the legal move argue that the case represents yet another example of Democrats using the legal system to target conservative voices and media outlets that dare to challenge their narratives.
