BREAKING: ABC Agrees To Settle Defamation Suit With Trump, Will Pay Millions
ABC News and network host George Stephanopoulos have reached a with President-elect Donald Trump to settle his defamation lawsuit against them. The network has agreed to pay $15 million and will issue a formal apology over inaccurate reporting.
According to the settlement, which was filed publicly on Saturday, ABC News will pay $15 million as a charitable contribution to a “presidential foundation and museum to be established by or for the Plaintiff.”
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The network has also been ordered to pay an additional $1 million to cover the president-elect’s legal fees.
Trump filed the lawsuit in Florida federal court earlier this year, arguing that Stephanopoulos and the network defamed him during a contentious interview with U.S. Rep. Nancy Mace (R-SC). Over the course of the March interview, the anchor repeated the false claim that a jury found Trump guilty of “rape” in the E. Jean Carroll case.
🚨 #BREAKING: ABC agrees to pay President Trump $15 MILLION after defaming him
BIG WIN! 🔥
George Stephanopolous falsely stated that President Trump “r*ped” E Jean Carroll
The settlement comes with an “apology” from ABC News as well:
“ABC News and George Stephanopoulos regret… pic.twitter.com/KYzQiSPg1Z
— Nick Sortor (@nicksortor) December 14, 2024
Carroll accused Trump of raping her in a 1990’s department store and that he defamed her when denying her claim. Despite the fact that there were no witnesses, no definitive timeline of when the alleged assault even occurred, and the fact that Carroll’s claim mirrored an episode of law and order, Trump was found liable by a New York jury and was ordered to pay more than $80 million in damages.
Trump has denied any wrongdoing and has vowed to appeal.
Despite the highly questionable decision, the jury did not find Trump. that Carroll proved Trump had raped her. Instead, a judge concluded months later when dismissing Trump’s countersuit against Carroll that the claim Trump raped Carroll was “substantially true.”
In the lawsuit filed against ABC News in March, Trump claimed that Stephanopoulos’ statements were “false, intentional, malicious and designed to cause harm.”
The case was allowed to move forward in July after a judge refused the network’s motion to dismiss the lawsuit, noting that ABC’s claims suffered from the civil ruling. He added that the case would hinge on “whether it is substantially true to say a jury (or juries) found (Trump) liable for rape by a jury despite the jury’s verdict expressly finding he was not liable for rape.”
This is a developing story.
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