California Governor Gavin Newsom filed a lawsuit on Friday accusing Fox News of defaming him through its coverage of a phone call between himself and President Donald Trump, according to Politico and the New York Times.
The newspaper reported that Newsom, a Democrat, also sent a letter demanding Fox issue a retraction and that host Jesse Waters issue an on-air apology for saying on his show that Newsom had lied about the call. If Fox meets those conditions, Newsom would drop the lawsuit, the Times said.
Newsom and Trump spoke by phone soon after scattered protests broke out in Los Angeles in the wake of federal immigration raids. Trump responded by ordering thousands of National Guard troops and 700 Marines to the state, bypassing Newsom and igniting another firestorm over his aggressive efforts to deport migrants living in the U.S. illegally.
The damages Newsom is asking for mirrors the $787.5 million that Fox News and its parent Fox Corp (FOXA.O) paid in 2023 to settle a lawsuit by Dominion Voting Systems over its coverage of false vote-rigging claims in the 2020 U.S. election.
