Please ensure Javascript is enabled for purposes of website accessibility
ABC Settles Defamation Suit, Grants $15M to Trump Presidential Library
gvw_ap_news
By Associated Press
Published 3 weeks ago on
December 14, 2024

President-elect Donald Trump, left, and Vice President-elect JD Vance attend the NCAA college football game between Army and Navy at Northwest Stadium in Landover, Md., Saturday, Dec. 14, 2024. (AP/Stephanie Scarbrough)

Share

Getting your Trinity Audio player ready...

NEW YORK — ABC News has agreed to pay $15 million toward Donald Trump’s presidential library to settle a lawsuit over anchor George Stephanopoulos’ inaccurate on-air assertion that the president-elect had been found civilly liable for raping writer E. Jean Carroll.

According to settlement documents made public Saturday, ABC will also post a note on its website expressing regret over the claim in a March 10 segment on Stephanopoulos’ “This Week” program and pay $1 million in legal fees to Trump’s lawyer.

ABC Said Parties Reached Agreement

In a statement, ABC News said: “We are pleased that the parties have reached an agreement to dismiss the lawsuit on the terms in the court filing.”

Trump sued Stephanopoulos and ABC for defamation days after the anchor claimed during an interview with Rep. Nancy Mace, R-S.C., that Trump had been “found liable for rape,” which misstated the verdicts in Carroll’s two lawsuits against him.

Last year, Trump was found liable for sexually assaulting and defaming Carroll and was ordered to pay her $5 million. In January, he was found liable on additional defamation claims and ordered to pay Carroll $83.3 million. Trump is appealing both verdicts.

Neither verdict involved a finding of rape as defined under New York law.

The judge in both cases, Lewis Kaplan, has said that the jury’s conclusion was that Carroll had failed to prove that Trump raped her “within the narrow, technical meaning of a particular section of the New York Penal Law.”

Kaplan noted that the definition of rape was “far narrower” than how rape is defined in common modern parlance, in some dictionaries, in some federal and state criminal statutes and elsewhere.

The judge said the verdict did not mean that Carroll “failed to prove that Mr. Trump ‘raped’ her as many people commonly understand the word ‘rape.’ Indeed … the jury found that Mr. Trump in fact did exactly that.”

RELATED TOPICS:

DON'T MISS

Amazon Will Stream Melania Trump Documentary by Director Bruce Ratner

DON'T MISS

No Curry? No Problem for Warriors in Win Over Grizzlies

DON'T MISS

Israel Helps Former Soldier Flee Brazil Over Probe of Alleged Gaza War Crimes

DON'T MISS

Crawford Excels, but Bulldogs Remain Winless in MW With Loss at Utah State

DON'T MISS

Higher Social Security Payments Coming for Millions of Americans

DON'T MISS

With a Nod to Her Mentor Shirley Chisholm, Rep. Barbara Lee Exits Congress as a Renegade Herself

DON'T MISS

EV Demand Leads Automakers to Strong 2024 Finish

DON'T MISS

Why 2025 Will Be a Pivotal Year for Mayor Karen Bass and LA

DON'T MISS

From Georgia to Washington, Memorials Trace Jimmy Carter’s Life

DON'T MISS

Is Your Car Spying on You? What It Means That Tesla Shared Data in Las Vegas Explosion

UP NEXT

No Curry? No Problem for Warriors in Win Over Grizzlies

UP NEXT

Israel Helps Former Soldier Flee Brazil Over Probe of Alleged Gaza War Crimes

UP NEXT

Crawford Excels, but Bulldogs Remain Winless in MW With Loss at Utah State

UP NEXT

Higher Social Security Payments Coming for Millions of Americans

UP NEXT

With a Nod to Her Mentor Shirley Chisholm, Rep. Barbara Lee Exits Congress as a Renegade Herself

UP NEXT

EV Demand Leads Automakers to Strong 2024 Finish

UP NEXT

Why 2025 Will Be a Pivotal Year for Mayor Karen Bass and LA

UP NEXT

From Georgia to Washington, Memorials Trace Jimmy Carter’s Life

UP NEXT

Is Your Car Spying on You? What It Means That Tesla Shared Data in Las Vegas Explosion

UP NEXT

Can California Keep ICE Away from Schools? Lawmakers Want to Try as Crackdowns Loom

Crawford Excels, but Bulldogs Remain Winless in MW With Loss at Utah State

4 hours ago

Higher Social Security Payments Coming for Millions of Americans

5 hours ago

With a Nod to Her Mentor Shirley Chisholm, Rep. Barbara Lee Exits Congress as a Renegade Herself

9 hours ago

EV Demand Leads Automakers to Strong 2024 Finish

9 hours ago

Why 2025 Will Be a Pivotal Year for Mayor Karen Bass and LA

10 hours ago

From Georgia to Washington, Memorials Trace Jimmy Carter’s Life

22 hours ago

Is Your Car Spying on You? What It Means That Tesla Shared Data in Las Vegas Explosion

23 hours ago

Can California Keep ICE Away from Schools? Lawmakers Want to Try as Crackdowns Loom

23 hours ago

Elon Musk Announces Algorithm Change to Reduce Negativity on X

23 hours ago

Indie Filmmaker Jeff Baena, Aubrey Plaza’s Husband, Found Dead at Los Angeles Residence

1 day ago

Amazon Will Stream Melania Trump Documentary by Director Bruce Ratner

LOS ANGELES — Incoming first lady Melania Trump will be the subject of a new documentary directed by Brett Ratner and distributed by Amazon ...

3 hours ago

Photo of First Lady Melania Trump
3 hours ago

Amazon Will Stream Melania Trump Documentary by Director Bruce Ratner

4 hours ago

No Curry? No Problem for Warriors in Win Over Grizzlies

Palestinian mourners Jan. 5, 2024
4 hours ago

Israel Helps Former Soldier Flee Brazil Over Probe of Alleged Gaza War Crimes

Fresno State forward Alex Crawford
4 hours ago

Crawford Excels, but Bulldogs Remain Winless in MW With Loss at Utah State

Social Security Headquarters
5 hours ago

Higher Social Security Payments Coming for Millions of Americans

9 hours ago

With a Nod to Her Mentor Shirley Chisholm, Rep. Barbara Lee Exits Congress as a Renegade Herself

9 hours ago

EV Demand Leads Automakers to Strong 2024 Finish

10 hours ago

Why 2025 Will Be a Pivotal Year for Mayor Karen Bass and LA

Help continue the work that gets you the news that matters most.

Search

Send this to a friend