Newsom sues Fox News for defamation over Trump phone call
California Gov. Gavin Newsom sued Fox News on Friday for $787 million, accusing the outlet of defamation in its reporting on a phone call between him and President Trump.
Why it matters: Newsom's demand for $787 million is nearly the same figure Fox News paid Dominion Voting Systems in 2023 to settle a defamation lawsuit over the network's coverage of the 2020 election.
Fox News, Newsom's office and the White House did not respond to Axios' requests for comment.
Driving the news: Newsom's lawsuit accuses Fox host Jesse Watters of misleadingly editing a video of Trump to support the president's disputed assertion that the two spoke before Trump deployed the National Guard in response to anti-ICE protests in Los Angeles, multiple outlets reported.
Newsom denied that Trump contacted him before deploying more National Guard troops to Los Angeles, after the president claimed he had spoken with the governor.
"No more lies," Newsom said on X Friday morning.
Friction point: Trump's decision to federalize the California National Guard over the governor's objections only exacerbated a brewing feud between the two men.
Trump has repeatedly targeted California, threatening to withhold funding for education and disaster recovery and to strip the state's ability to regulate vehicle emissions.
The governor sued
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