California Governor Gavin Newsom is suing Fox News for $787 million as part of a defamation lawsuit filed on Friday in a Delaware court.

Newsom is accusing the network, particularly its host Jesse Watters, of claiming the governor lied about having a phone conversation with President Donald Trump regarding troop deployments in Los Angeles during a June 10 edition of Jesse Watters Primetime. 

In a statement shared to TVNewser and other outlets on Friday, Fox News responded to the lawsuit, saying, “​​Gov. Newsom’s transparent publicity stunt is frivolous and designed to chill free speech critical of him. We will defend this case vigorously and look forward to it being dismissed.”

Newsom appeared on the Brian Tyler Cohen podcast later on Friday, where he responded to the Fox News statement, saying, “This organization, it needs to be held to account. I think what’s so frustrating, I think for all of us, is they learned no lessons from that defamation case as it relates to Dominion. Nothing. They continue the practices that led to that record-breaking settlement.

That’s why this needed to be filed, and that’s why we felt compelled to make this case and to assert ourselves. Look, if they want to apologize, they can apologize, and if they want to hide behind these lies, they’ll pay a price.”

According to Newsom’s attorneys, the California governor had a call with Trump on June 7, a day before the California National Guard was deployed to Los Angeles. However, on June 10, Trump stated that a conversation with Newsom had occurred “a day ago,” which would be after the troops were deployed.

Newsom claims he refuted that remark in a social media post: “There was no call. Not even a voicemail. Americans should be alarmed that a President deploying Marines onto our streets doesn’t even know who he’s talking to,” Newsom wrote on X, formerly Twitter, on June 10.

According to Newsom’s attorneys, Jesse Watters Primetime framed Newsom’s comment to make it appear that the governor was denying he ever had a call with Trump, allegedly airing an edited clip of the president’s comments, removing the part where Trump said “a day ago.”

“Why would Newsom lie and claim Trump never called him?” Watters said on the show, which was accompanied by a lower-third titled, “Gavin Lied About Trump’s Call.”

Newsom’s attorneys believe they have met the legal standard for defamation, with the network potentially harming the governor’s standing with voters in future elections. 

They also claim that what aired during Fox News’ 8 p.m. ET show violated California’s Unfair Competition Law, which outlaws “deceptive and unfair business practices.”

If the $787 million seems familiar, that is because it nearly matches the amount Dominion Voting Systems received in April 2023 after it settled with the network just as the trial was set to begin.