FOLLOW US

ABC News has urged a Florida federal judge to dismiss former President Donald Trump's defamation lawsuit against the network, arguing that statements made by television host George Stephanopoulos regarding writer E. Jean Carroll's two lawsuits against Trump were accurate.

 ABC Trump Defamation Suit : Hearing Details

During a hearing on Monday in Miami before U.S. District Judge Cecilia Altonaga, the network defended Stephanopoulos' statements that juries found Trump liable for raping Carroll. ABC pointed to a July 2023 decision in which U.S. District Judge Lewis A. Kaplan, who presided over the New York trials, denied Trump's request for a new trial and reduction in damages.

Judge Kaplan noted that the jurors' decision finding Trump liable for sexual assault and defamation, but not rape, hinged on a technicality of the New York Penal Law, which limits "rape" to vaginal penetration with a penis. However, digital penetration is considered "rape" in a colloquial sense, making Stephanopoulos' statements true, according to ABC attorney Nathan Siegel.

Legal Arguments

"What Mr. Stephanopoulos said was literally true," Siegel stated. "Judge Kaplan specifically held twice and repeated thereafter that the jury found him liable for rape. The judge was construing what the jury found."

Siegel argued that Trump's lawsuit in Florida is merely an attempt to relitigate his defamation claims against Carroll. He added that even if Judge Kaplan's ruling is incorrect, as Trump contends, it does not matter because Stephanopoulos was simply reporting on the judge's findings.

"All they're doing here is collaterally attacking Judge Kaplan's ruling," Siegel said. "The essence of the fair reporting privilege is that it doesn't matter if the underlying ruling is wrong."

Trump's attorney Alejandro Brito countered, calling Judge Kaplan's rulings "above and beyond and extraneous." He claimed it would be a "manifest injustice" if the Florida court adopted them.

 ABC Trump Defamation Suit : Controversial Statements

Brito argued that Stephanopoulos knew exactly what the jury's verdict said and still claimed that jurors found Trump had raped Carroll. "He knew full well that that never happened," Brito said. "That's not close enough, that's not fair reporting, that's simply telling a flat-out misstatement to the public."

At issue are Stephanopoulos' statements on the March 10 episode of "This Week With George Stephanopoulos," during an interview with U.S. Rep. Nancy Mace, R-S.C., in which he asked how she could endorse Trump when she herself was a victim of rape. Throughout the interview, Stephanopoulos repeatedly said Trump had been "found liable for rape," which Trump alleges are defamatory statements.

Background on the Case

Last year, a New York federal jury found Trump responsible for sexually abusing Carroll in 1996 and then defaming her with his denials, awarding her $5 million in damages. A separate jury later awarded Carroll $83 million for the harm she suffered when Trump called her a liar in response to her sexual assault allegations while he was president.

In his defamation suit in Florida, Trump claims his team had contacted ABC and Stephanopoulos asking for a retraction and an apology, but ABC and the host refused. ABC did change the headline on one article from saying "Nancy Mace defends her support for Trump after he was found liable for rape" to "Nancy Mace defends her support for Trump after he was found liable for sexual assault," but the article itself continued to reference Stephanopoulos' allegedly false statements, according to the suit.

Trump seeks damages, court costs, and attorney fees.

Representation

Trump is represented by Alejandro Brito of Brito PLLC and Richard Carroll Klugh Jr. ABC News and Stephanopoulos are represented by Nathan Siegel and Elizabeth A. McNamara of Davis Wright Tremaine LLP, and Rachel E. Fugate and Minch Minchin of Shullman Fugate PLLC.