(NewsNation) — California Gov. Gavin Newsom has accused Fox News of defamation in a $787 million lawsuit, he announced Thursday.
The lawsuit centers on claims made by Fox News host Jesse Watters, who said Newsom lied about his phone calls with President Donald Trump during Los Angeles immigration protests earlier this month, Politico first reported.
The lawsuit accuses Watters’ program of selectively editing a video of Trump to support a false narrative that Newsom lied about the date of their phone call regarding the deployment of troops to LA.
“If Fox News wants to lie to the American people on Donald Trump’s behalf, it should face consequences — just like it did in the Dominion case,” Newsom said in a statement to Politico.
Trump deployed California National Guard troops and U.S. Marines to the city in mid-June, prompting a separate lawsuit from Newsom against Trump and the Department of Defense.