ABC has agreed to pay $15 to US President-elect Donald Trump to settle a defamation lawsuit after its prominent anchor falsely accused Trump of being found "liable for rape." Star anchor George Stephanopoulos made these allegations repeatedly during an interview on 10 March earlier this year, while challenging a congresswoman about her support for Donald Trump.
Meanwhile, a jury in a civil case last year determined that Trump was liable for "sexual abuse," which has a specific definition under New York law. The settlement, which took place on Saturday, per Fox News Digital's reports, expresses its "regret" for George Stephanopoulos's false statement.
Trump Defamation Case with ABC News Reaches Legal Settlement
Trump's legal settlement meant that ABC News would pay $15m in a charitable donation to a "Presidential foundation and museum to be established by or for Plaintiff, as Presidents of the United States of America have established in the past." According to the US media, the $15m will go towards Trump's future presidential library.
Other terms on the settlement declared that ABC News will pay the President-elect’s legal fees, worth $1m alongside an editor’s note to the bottom of its 10 March 2024 online news article about the story.
The note will say, "ABC News and George Stephanopoulos regret statements regarding President Donald J Trump made during an interview by George Stephanopoulos with Rep. Nancy Mace on ABC's This Week on March 10, 2024."
A spokesperson for the network said the company was “pleased that the parties have reached an agreement to dismiss the lawsuit on the terms in the court filing.”
The Backstory
In 2023, a New York court found Trump sexually abused E Jean Carroll in a dressing room at a department store in 1996. Trump was also found guilty of defaming the columnist. The jury concluded that Ms Carrol had failed to prove that Trump raped her “within the narrow, technical meaning of a particular section of the New York Penal Law.”
According to Judge Kaplan, who spoke on behalf of the jury, the definition of rape was "far narrower" than how rape is defined in common modern parlance, in some dictionaries, and in criminal statutes elsewhere.
A separate case presided by the same judge ordered Trump to pay $83.3m to Ms Carroll for additional defamatory statements. Trump is appealing against both verdicts. Referring to the incident, Stephanopoulos falsely said "Judges and two separate juries have found him liable for rape," repeating the claim 10 times throughout the broadcast.
Final Remarks
ABC Network has agreed to pay President-elect Donald Trump $15m in a legal settlement over a false statement made by star anchor George Stephanopoulos. The anchor falsely said that Trump was accused of “rape” referring to a judicial determination of “sexual abuse” by a New York jury. Both terms mean differently, under New York law, warranting the Trump defamation lawsuit.