Donald Trump scores big victory as ABC apologizes and agrees to pay $15 million

ABC News has agreed to pay $15 million for Donald Trump's presidential library and issue a public apology to settle a defamation lawsuit over inaccurate statements made by anchor George Stephanopoulos on a show earlier this year.

The settlement, disclosed in court documents released Saturday, comes just days after U.S. Judge Lisette Reid ordered the president-elect and Stephanopoulos to submit to four hours of depositions. The resolution anticipates scheduled testimony from both parties.

Trump filed a defamation suit after Stephanopoulos claimed during a March 10 segment of ABC News' This Week while interviewing Rep. Nancy Mace, a South Carolina Republican, that Trump had been “recognized responsible for rape” in the context of the legal proceedings of the writer E. Jean Carroll.

Newsweek reached out to the Trump transition team and ABC News via email on Saturday for comment.

Terms of the settlement require ABC News to post a notice on its website expressing regret over the claim. Additionally, the network will pay $1 million in legal fees to Trump's lawyers.

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

Before the settlement, Reid ordered Trump to appear for an in-person deposition in South Florida, while leaving open the option for Stephanopoulos to participate remotely. Depositions were scheduled for the week of Dec. 16, with both sides limited to four hours of testimony.

At a court hearing before issuing the order, Reid expressed sympathy for defense attorney Nathan Siegel's “frustration” that the president-elect had avoided a deposition. She acknowledged that while Trump had a “pretty good argument” for delaying the election, he “should be able to make himself available” now that the election is over.

President-elect Donald Trump is seen Nov. 6 in West Palm Beach, Florida. ABC News agreed to pay $15 million for Trump's presidential library and issue a public apology to settle a defamation lawsuit… President-elect Donald Trump is seen Nov. 6 in West Palm Beach, Florida. ABC News has agreed to pay $15 million for Trump's presidential library and issue a public apology to settle a defamation lawsuit over inaccurate statements made by anchor George Stephanopoulos on a show earlier this year. More Getty Images/Chip Somodevilla

The case stems from two previous verdicts involving Carroll. Last year, Trump was convicted of sexual abuse and defamation of Carroll and was ordered to pay him $5 million. In January, he was ordered to pay Carroll $83.3 million for additional defamation suits, but he is appealing both verdicts.

Justice Lewis Kaplan, who presided over both Carroll cases, clarified in July 2023 that the jury's conclusion reflected specific legal definitions.

“The definition of rape in New York criminal law is much narrower than the meaning of 'rape' in common modern parlance, its definition in some dictionaries, in some federal and state criminal statutes, and elsewhere,” he said. -he writes.

The judge further noted that the jury's finding meant that Carroll failed to prove rape “in the narrow and technical sense of a particular section of New York criminal law.” However, Kaplan emphasized that this did not mean that Carroll “failed to prove that Mr. Trump 'raped' her, as many people generally understand the word 'rape.'

During the pre-settlement proceedings, Trump's lawyer, Alejandro Brito, had said he would “do everything in his power to make the president available” for the deposition, while pointing out logistical problems involving the secret services. After Siegel offered to conduct the deposition near Mar-a-Lago, both sides agreed to move the original trial date from April 7 to June 9.

In July, ABC News and Stephanopoulos attempted to dismiss the complaint, arguing that Kaplan's remarks meant the rape allegation was “substantially true.” The motion was rejected by the Federal Court.

Unlike other legal proceedings that were abandoned or delayed due to the president-elect's imminent return to the White House, this case was expected to continue through Trump's second term since he was the plaintiff and it was of a civil matter.

This article includes reporting from the Associated Press.

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