Newsom’s $787 Million Fox News Defamation Lawsuit Advances (1)

California Gov. Gavin Newsom (D) won an initial round Thursday in his $787 million defamation case over Fox News coverage of a phone call he had with President Donald Trump last year about protests in Los Angeles.

Judge Sean P. Lugg let the lawsuit advance in Delaware’s Superior Court, calling it “reasonably conceivable” the conservative news network knowingly aired false statements when it reported that Newsom had “lied” about the phone exchange. Newsom, an aggressive Trump foil and likely 2028 presidential candidate, alleged in his court complaint that Fox deliberately mischaracterized his descriptions of the call.

Lugg’s decision, denying a ...