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.”
