FILE: California Gov. Gavin Newsom speaks at a news conference about fentanyl seizures and border security at Montgomery-Gibbs Executive Airport on Feb. 2, 2026, in San Diego.
Gov. Gavin Newsom is celebrating a win after a judge ruled last week that his $787 milliondefamation lawsuit against Fox Newscan move forward.
Newsom filed the defamation lawsuit in June against the conservative-leaning news network, alleging it misled the public about a phone conversation that took place between the California governor and President Donald Trump during civil unrest that erupted in Los Angeles earlier that month.
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Judge Sean P. Lugg said in an April 30 decision rejecting the network’s motion to dismiss that he found it “reasonably conceivable” that Fox knew the statements were false before making them.
“Looking forward to discovery,” Newsomwrote Thursday on Xafter the judge’s decision, alluding to the legal process where each side turns over documents, including private communications that could be embarrassing.
Fox News said in an emailed statement to SFGATE that Newsom’s lawsuit is an attempt to limit free speech.
“We respectfully disagree with the court’s decision and plan to vigorously defend against this frivolous lawsuit as it’s nothing more than a blatant attempt to silence free speech and weaken the First Amendment,” the network said in an email.
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The conversation in question took place between Newsom and Trump for 16 minutes on the evening of June 6, according to the court filing. The controversy erupted later after Trumptold reportersduring a June 10 media conference that he and the governor spoke “a day ago,” when the president called Newsom to tell him “he’s doing a bad job” during the Immigration and Customs Enforcement protests. Newsom took to social media to say Trump was wrong, apparently because the president had mixed up the date of the call.
Source: Drudge Report
