Gov. Gavin Newsom (D-CA) filed a lawsuit against Fox News in late June, alleging he was defamed by the network. Now the cable channel is filing a motion to dismiss the suit.
Newsom claims he spoke with President Trump on June 7th, about one day before more than 2,000 California National Guard members were deployed in Los Angeles to quell anti-ICE riots in the city. On June 10th, however, Trump claimed he had spoken with Newsom “a day ago”, which insinuated that he had spoken with the governor the day 700 U.S. Marines were sent to Los Angeles, which Newsom refuted.
Fox News anchor John Roberts shared a screenshot he obtained from President Trump that showed he had indeed spoken with Gavin Newsom on June 7th, as the governor previously stated.
In response, however, Jesse Watters alleged that Newsom had lied in his statements. “Why would Newsom lie and claim Trump never called him?” he said on the network.
Lawyers for the governor argue that Watters’ comments meet the legal standard for defamation and could have been harmful to Newsom’s reputation with voters.
“It is perhaps unsurprising that a near-octogenarian with a history of delusionary public statements and unhinged late-night social media screeds might confuse the dates,” the lawyers said. “But Fox’s decision to cover up for President Trump’s error cannot be so easily dismissed.”
However, earlier this week, attorneys for Fox News argued that Newsom had claimed he would drop the suit should Watters make a public apology.
In mid-July, Watters did apologize on his popular Fox News program. “We thought the dispute was about whether there had been a call at all, not when,” Watters began. “We thought that the governor was clear when he said — without qualification — that there was no call.
“Now, Newsom’s telling us what was in his head when he wrote the tweet. He didn’t deceive anybody on purpose, so I’m sorry. He wasn’t lying, he was just confusing and unclear. Next time, Governor, why don’t you just say what you mean?”
Lawyers for Fox News have stated the defamation suit is “pointless litigation,” while also alleging that Newsom improperly filed the lawsuit in Delaware to avoid facing penalties for launching a frivolous lawsuit in his home state of California.
As of this publication, Newsom has yet to respond publicly to the call for dismissal.
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