California Governor Gavin Newsom’s $787 million defamation lawsuit against Fox News is scheduled to go to trial in Delaware in March 2028, according to court documents reviewed by The Desk.
The lawsuit stems from comments made by a Fox News personality, Jesse Watters, about the circumstances of telephone conversations between Newsom and President Donald Trump during civil unrest in Los Angeles last summer.
Newsom alleges Fox News and Watters falsely portrayed him as lying after he disputed Trump’s claim that the two had spoken “a day ago” when commenting about the federal government’s response to anti-immigration protests in the city.
Call records later shown on Fox News indicated the conversation had actually taken place around midnight on June 6-7, several days before Trump made the statement on June 10. Watters subsequently said on air, “Why would Newsom lie and claim Trump never called him? Why would he do that?”
Newsom’s complaint alleges Fox News “chose to create false propaganda to defend the President while casting Governor Newsom as dishonest.”
Newsom said he would drop the lawsuit if Watters and Fox News apologized and issued a retraction. Watters did apologize the following month, but the network didn’t fully retract the report, so Newsom moved forward with his case.
In prior statements, officials at Fox News Media said the network intends to defend itself from the lawsuit, which seeks $787 million in punitive damages. The amount is close to what Fox News agreed to pay Dominion Voting Systems three years ago to settle a defamation case involving election-related commentary aired on some of its programming.
On Wednesday, the network reaffirmed its commitment to fighting Newsom’s frivolous lawsuit in court.
“We will continue to vigorously defend against Governor Newsom’s meritless claims, which directly implicate core First Amendment protections for free speech, political commentary and a free press,” a Fox News Media spokesperson said by e-mail.
Newsom, who is widely speculated to be considering a run for president, could choose to withdraw his case early, especially if it interferes with his ability to focus on furthering his political career. It wasn’t clear if the network has offered to settle the case, though sources at Fox Corporation said settlements are typically the company’s preferred outcome in lieu of a civil trial.
