California Governor Gavin Newsom filed a $787 million defamation lawsuit against Fox News on Friday, June 27, 2025, alleging the network falsely portrayed him as lying about a phone call with President Donald Trump during tensions over National Guard deployment in Los Angeles.
The lawsuit, filed in Delaware Superior Court where Fox News is incorporated, centers on comments made by Fox host Jesse Watters regarding a dispute over when Newsom and Trump last spoke by phone. The demanded damages mirror the $787.5 million Fox paid Dominion Voting Systems in 2023 to settle another defamation case over election misinformation.
According to the lawsuit, Newsom and Trump spoke for approximately 16 minutes during a call late on June 6 or early June 7, 2025, depending on the time zone. The complaint states that Trump did not raise the demonstrations in Los Angeles during that conversation, nor did he discuss the National Guard deployment. When Newsom attempted to discuss the situation in Los Angeles, Trump steered the conversation away from the topic.
The controversy began when Trump told reporters in the Oval Office on June 10 that he had spoken with Newsom “a day ago,” implying the conversation occurred on June 9, the same day 700 Marines were deployed to Los Angeles. Trump indicated he called the governor to tell him he needed to do a better job and was causing potential death in the city.
Newsom immediately disputed Trump’s timeline on social media platform X, writing: “There was no call. Not even a voicemail. Americans should be alarmed that a President deploying Marines onto our streets doesn’t even know who he’s talking to.” The governor had previously spoken publicly about his June 6-7 conversation with Trump, stating the National Guard was never discussed during that call.
The lawsuit alleges that Fox News host Jesse Watters aired a deceptively edited video clip of Trump’s June 10 comments, removing the president’s claim that he spoke to Newsom “a day ago.” This editing, according to the complaint, made it appear that Newsom had denied ever speaking with Trump at all, rather than specifically denying a June 9 call.
During his June 10 evening broadcast, Watters questioned why Newsom would lie about Trump never calling him, while simultaneously displaying a screenshot of Trump’s call history showing the most recent conversation occurred on June 7. A banner during the segment read “Gavin Lied About Trump’s Call.” The lawsuit argues this presentation was deliberately misleading and defamatory.
The complaint accuses Fox News of willfully distorting facts to curry favor with Trump and advance false narratives about the California governor. Newsom’s legal team argues the incident meets the legal standard for defamation and potentially harmed his standing with voters in future elections.
The lawsuit also alleges violations of California’s Unfair Competition Law, which prohibits deceptive and unfair business practices. Newsom’s attorneys argue that Fox operates as a propaganda machine for Trump’s agenda and continues to erode informed representative government through malicious propaganda.
Newsom stated that if Fox News wants to lie to the American people on Trump’s behalf, “it should face consequences” just like it did in the Dominion case. The governor indicated he believes Americans should be able to trust information from major news outlets and will continue fighting against Fox’s propaganda machine until the network is willing to be truthful.
Fox News dismissed the lawsuit as frivolous, stating Newsom’s action is a transparent publicity stunt designed to chill free speech critical of him. The network indicated it will defend the case vigorously and expects it to be dismissed.
Newsom’s attorneys have offered to withdraw the lawsuit if Fox News retracts its claims and Watters issues a formal on-air apology. The governor is suing in his personal capacity and has agreed to pay any fines or penalties from his campaign account. Any proceeds from the case would be distributed to anti-Trump causes.
The legal team representing Newsom includes Mark Bankston, who previously represented Sandy Hook families in a defamation case against conspiracy theorist Alex Jones, securing a $49.3 million verdict in 2022. Public officials must meet an extremely high legal standard to prevail in defamation cases, as established by the Supreme Court in New York Times v. Sullivan six decades ago.
The lawsuit adds another layer to the ongoing tensions between Newsom and Trump over the deployment of National Guard troops to Los Angeles in response to protests following Immigration and Customs Enforcement operations. The governor is simultaneously pursuing separate legal action against the Trump administration for what he calls an illegal takeover of California National Guard units.
