ABC News Settles Trump Defamation Suit for $15M
ABC News and television host George Stephanopoulos revealed Saturday they've agreed to pay $15M toward a future presidential library to settle a defamation lawsuit filed by Pres.-elect Donald Trump over statements made during a March 2024 broadcast.
Facts
- ABC News and television host George Stephanopoulos revealed Saturday they've agreed to pay $15M toward a future presidential library to settle a defamation lawsuit filed by Pres.-elect Donald Trump over statements made during a March 2024 broadcast.[1]
- This suit stemmed from Stephanopoulos repeatedly stating during an interview with Rep. Nancy Mace (R-S.C.) that Trump had been found liable for rape in E. Jean Carroll's defamation case against him. A jury had actually found Trump liable for sexual abuse under New York law.[2]
- As part of the settlement, which was agreed upon before Trump and Stephanopoulos sat for scheduled depositions, ABC News will pay an additional $1M in legal fees and must publish a statement expressing regret for the statements made during the broadcast.[3][4]
- ABC must transfer the funds as a charitable contribution to a presidential foundation and museum to be established by Trump.[5]
- A US district judge had previously rejected ABC's argument that the statements were substantially true, noting that Florida law does not protect media when omission of important context renders a report misleading.[6]
- The jury in the original Carroll case had found Trump liable for sexual abuse and defamation, awarding Carroll $5M in damages. But it didn't find him liable for rape as defined under New York law.[7]
Sources: [1]ABC News, [2]FOX News, [3]New York Post, [4]Forbes, [5]BBC News, [6]Independent and [7]Daily Mail.
Narratives
- Right narrative, as provided by PJ Media. This settlement smells more like a Trump victory, and ABC News is seemingly getting off easy considering all the slander Stephanopoulos threw Trump's way. Finally, the far-left propaganda machine that's been trying to derail Trump is being held to account. We can expect even more of these triumphs once he returns to the White House.
- Left narrative, as provided by Daily Kos. It's disappointing that ABC News would agree to settle this case considering its First Amendment protections and many media experts saying it had a strong chance of winning. But this is just the latest of many capitulations made by mainstream media outlets in an attempt to curry favor with the incoming administration — and another sign of the deterioration of US democracy.
