Key Points:

• Fox News asked a judge to dismiss Gavin Newsom’s defamation lawsuit, calling it a political stunt meant to draw media attention.
• The lawsuit stems from a Fox segment that accused Newsom of lying about phone calls with President Trump.
• Newsom claims the segment damaged his political reputation and that Fox deliberately misled viewers about the nature of the call.
• Fox News says the lawsuit violates California’s anti-SLAPP statute, and that it is entitled to attorney’s fees.

Attorneys for Fox News Media on Thursday asked a federal judge to dismiss a news distortion and defamation lawsuit brought by California Governor Gavin Newsom, saying the case was filed frivolously in an effort to drum up media attention.

The case was filed in June after Newsom complained that he was unfairly maligned during a commentary segment on “Jesse Watters Tonight,” a political affairs program aired in prime-time on Fox News. During the segment, the show’s host Jesse Watters challenged the notion that President Donald Trump failed to communicate with Newsom during civil unrest brought on by immigration raids in Los Angeles in late spring.

During a press event, Trump claimed he called Newsom before deploying Marines from a nearby military installation to Los Angeles, which Newsom denied in a social media post. After the event, Newsom wrote on social media that there “was no call, not even a voicemail” and suggested Trump’s mental fitness was in peril.

“Americans should be alarmed that a President deploying Marines onto our streets doesn’t even know who he’s talking to,” Newsom stated.

Trump later provided call records to Fox News that showed outgoing phone calls made to a phone number associated with Newsom. The timing of the calls were off by a day or two compared to when Trump claimed they were made, but the logs proved that the two had been in touch, without saying what was discussed.

“Why would Newsom lie and claim Trump never called him?” Watters asked during a June airing of his while speaking over a graphic that said: “Gavin Lied About Trump’s Call.”

Newsom claimed Fox News deliberately misled its viewers about the nature of the call, and that its statements have the potential to damage his political reputation and chances of running for office in the future. Newsom is widely speculated to be considering a bid for president in 2028, though he hasn’t confirmed his intention to do so. His term as California governor expires next year.

Newsom is seeking $787 million in damages from Fox News — close to the same amount the network paid to settle a defamation lawsuit brought by a voting machine manufacturer last year.

To some degree, the lawsuit is out of character for Newsom, who has spent the past few years attempting to build bridges between the progressives who voted for him and the Republicans who didn’t. He has accepted numerous invitations to appear on Fox News, including sit-down interviews with Sean Hannity, one of the network’s biggest conservative commentators.

Now, Newsom appears willing to take controversial plays out of Trump’s playbook — suing news outlets for unfavorable coverage, and demanding they apologize over remarks that are peppered with elements of truth and opinion.

On Thursday, attorneys for Fox News called out Newsom, saying his defamation lawsuit was nothing more than a publicity stunt meant to earn him favorable media coverage. The network says it is entitled to a dismissal and attorney’s fees under California’s anti-SLAPP law, which awards both when a defendant proves that a lawsuit was meant to frivolously suppress their free speech and expression rights.

The request came after Newsom sought to amend his original complaint, which Fox News took as an effort to sidestep the state’s tough litigation laws.

“With Gov. Newsom facing possible payment of Fox’s attorney fees and political embarrassment, we’re not surprised he has told us he plans to amend his original complaint,” a spokesperson for Fox News Media said in a statement. “But no amendment will change that this case is a transparent publicity stunt and a colossal waste of the court’s time and resources.”

Previously, Newsom said he would dismiss the case if Watters and Fox News publicly apologized for the June broadcast. Last month, Watters said Newsom “didn’t deceive anybody on purpose, so I’m sorry,” but his thin apology was followed by a charge that Newsom could have articulated his position better on social media.

“He wasn’t lying. He was just confusing and unclear,” Watters said. “Next time, Governor, why don’t you just say what you mean?”