ABC News settles $15m defamation lawsuit with Trump over false rape claim
ABC News has agreed to pay $15 million to settle a defamation lawsuit brought by U.S. President-elect Donald Trump. The settlement follows false statements made by the network’s star anchor, George Stephanopoulos, during a March 10, 2024, broadcast.
During an interview on This Week, Stephanopoulos repeatedly claimed that Trump had been found “liable for rape” by a jury. In reality, a 2023 New York civil court had determined that Trump was liable for “sexual abuse,” a specific legal definition under New York law, but not rape.
Settlement details
As part of the settlement, ABC News will issue a public statement expressing regret for Stephanopoulos’ comments. The network will also add an editor’s note to the online version of the March 10 article, clarifying the error.
The statement will read:
“ABC News and George Stephanopoulos regret statements regarding President Donald J. Trump made during an interview by George Stephanopoulos with Rep. Nancy Mace on ABC’s This Week on March 10, 2024.”
In addition to the $15 million payment, which will go to a presidential foundation Trump plans to establish, ABC News will cover $1 million in legal fees for Trump.
An ABC News spokesperson expressed satisfaction with the resolution, stating, “We are pleased that the parties have reached an agreement to dismiss the lawsuit on the terms outlined in the court filing.”
The lawsuit stemmed from remarks made by Stephanopoulos as he questioned Republican Congresswoman Nancy Mace about her endorsement of Trump. Over the course of the broadcast, Stephanopoulos falsely repeated the claim about Trump being “liable for rape” ten times.
The civil case at the heart of the controversy involved allegations brought by magazine columnist E. Jean Carroll, who accused Trump of sexually abusing her in a department store dressing room in 1996. While the jury found Trump liable for “sexual abuse,” they did not conclude that Carroll had proven rape under the narrow legal definition in New York.
Judge Lewis Kaplan, who presided over the case, explained that New York’s definition of rape is more restrictive than the broader understanding of the term in common usage and other jurisdictions. In a related case, also overseen by Judge Kaplan, a jury ordered Trump to pay $83.3 million to Carroll for additional defamatory statements.
Broader legal context
The ABC News lawsuit is one of several legal battles Trump has pursued against media outlets. He has ongoing cases against CBS and other organizations, including a defamation lawsuit dismissed by a judge in 2023 against CNN, where he alleged the network likened him to Adolf Hitler. For Trump, this settlement represents a significant legal win, underscoring the responsibility of media organizations to maintain accuracy, even in contentious and high-profile reporting. For ABC News, it serves as a cautionary tale about the consequences of journalistic errors in a polarized political environment.
