FOLLOW US

ABC News will pay $16 million to settle a defamation lawsuit filed by Donald Trump over statements made by George Stephanopoulos concerning legal rulings in favor of writer E. Jean Carroll, according to a settlement filed Saturday in Florida.

The agreement includes $15 million to establish a nonprofit for a presidential foundation and museum and $1 million to cover Trump’s attorney fees. The deal also requires ABC News to issue a public apology for Stephanopoulos' remarks during a March 10, 2024, broadcast of "This Week With George Stephanopoulos," in which he interviewed U.S. Rep. Nancy Mace.

Judge Found Statements Susceptible to Defamatory Interpretation

The settlement follows a ruling earlier this year by U.S. District Judge Cecilia Altonaga, who found that Stephanopoulos' comments could be interpreted as defamatory. Stephanopoulos had stated that Trump was found liable for raping Carroll, a claim that Trump’s legal team argued misrepresented the findings of a Manhattan federal jury.

In May 2023, that jury awarded Carroll $5 million, concluding that Trump had sexually abused her in the 1990s and defamed her in 2022 by calling her accusations a "hoax." The same case led to an $83.3 million damages verdict in a subsequent trial, after U.S. District Judge Lewis A. Kaplan determined Trump defamed Carroll in 2019 while denying the assault allegations. Trump continues to appeal both judgments.

Stephanopoulos' comments became a point of contention because the jury did not find Trump liable for "rape" as narrowly defined under New York law. Judge Kaplan explained that New York's legal definition of rape applies only to penile penetration, not to digital penetration, which Carroll alleged. Judge Altonaga ruled that these clarifications were not binding in Trump’s defamation case against ABC News.

Fair Report Privilege Denied

ABC News attempted to invoke Florida’s fair report privilege, which protects media outlets reporting on official government proceedings. However, Judge Altonaga found that Stephanopoulos’ statements did not clearly differentiate between Judge Kaplan's legal clarifications and the jury's verdict, leaving room for misinterpretation by viewers.

The network's defense team argued that the segment accurately reflected judicial findings, but the court disagreed, stating that the statements could confuse a "reasonable viewer."

Legal Teams and Next Steps

Trump was represented in the lawsuit by Alejandro Brito and Ian Michael Corp of Brito PLLC. ABC News and Stephanopoulos were defended by Nathan Siegel and Elizabeth A. McNamara of Davis Wright Tremaine LLP, alongside Ricardo M. Martinez-Cid of Podhurst Orseck PA.