June 27 EST: California Governor Gavin Newsom is suing Fox News for $787 million, alleging the network defamed him by airing a deceptively edited clip of a phone call with Donald Trump — and the figure is no accident. It’s the exact sum Fox paid Dominion Voting Systems to settle a defamation suit in 2023. The message: precedent matters.
Filed in Delaware Superior Court, the same court that oversaw the Dominion case, Newsom’s lawsuit targets a June segment aired by Jesse Watters, a primetime host on Fox. In that segment, Watters allegedly suggested Newsom lied about when he spoke with Trump in the lead-up to the former president’s decision to deploy the National Guard on June 10.
Newsom’s camp says the clip was edited in a way that implied dishonesty — when in fact, according to the suit, the call took place days earlier, on June 6 or 7. That misrepresentation, they argue, wasn’t a harmless production choice but a deliberate one, designed to undermine the governor’s credibility.
A Political Lawsuit, With Business Roots
Newsom isn’t shy about the politics behind the filing. He’s asked for an on-air apology and retraction from Fox and Watters. If granted, he says he’ll drop the case. If not, he’s prepared to see it through — and has pledged to use any financial award to fund campaigns against Trump-aligned candidates and disinformation efforts.
But strip out the political theater, and what’s left is a serious legal test for Fox. The case will draw on the same themes that unraveled the network’s defenses in the Dominion suit: editorial intent, actual malice, and whether Fox leadership knowingly allowed false narratives to reach the air.
From a media liability standpoint, this isn’t trivial. If Newsom succeeds, it could mark a second high-profile legal loss for Fox tied to its editorial practices — a rare, costly outcome for a company that’s built its brand on aggressive political commentary.
Fox Pushes Back, Hard
Fox News responded Thursday by calling the suit “frivolous” and a “publicity stunt.” The network made clear it sees this as an attack on First Amendment protections, and has signaled that it won’t consider a settlement lightly.
That posture echoes its early stance in the Dominion case — which later gave way to private negotiations and one of the largest known defamation settlements in U.S. media history. Whether Fox sticks to its guns this time will depend on two things: the strength of the evidence and the potential financial downside of dragging it out in court.
Stakes for Newsom and the Network
For Newsom, the lawsuit is more than a reputational defense. It’s a calculated move that blends legal argument with political branding. The governor has been raising his national profile, often positioning himself as a counterweight to Trump. Going after Fox fits the script — but the risk is real. If the case is dismissed or found to lack merit, it could backfire.
For Fox, the deeper issue is exposure. The network’s editorial division has already been forced to review its fact-checking and internal review processes after the Dominion case. A second lawsuit — this one involving a sitting governor — could push those reforms further, or expose gaps that remain.
The smart money will be watching how Fox handles discovery this time around. The internal emails and texts unearthed in the Dominion case were devastating not just in court, but in public opinion and advertiser trust. Any repeat of that pattern could create new problems in front of regulators, shareholders, or both.
Bigger Than a Headline
Whether this case becomes another cautionary tale or fizzles out depends on what’s behind the clip, not just what’s in it. That means evidence of editorial coordination, intent, and internal knowledge — the same criteria that turned Dominion’s case from long-shot to headline-grabbing settlement.
Newsom is betting that lightning can strike twice. Fox is betting that voters — and courts — won’t be swayed by a second defamation fight so soon after the first. Either way, it’s not just another legal squabble. It’s a signal to newsrooms, boardrooms, and campaign war rooms alike: the cost of narrative control is rising.
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A Wall Street veteran turned investigative journalist, Marcus brings over two decades of financial insight into boardrooms, IPOs, corporate chess games, and economic undercurrents. Known for asking uncomfortable questions in comfortable suits.
