News/Commentary

‘Total victory’: ABC News agrees to pay Trump $16M over defamation suit — Stephanopoulos to apologize

December 15, 2024 | | Print Article

ABC News and George Stephanopoulos settled a defamation lawsuit brought by President-elect Donald J. Trump who they will now be forced to apologize to and pay $16 million.

On Saturday, the network agreed to the massive payout days before Trump and Stephanopoulos were to give depositions, sparing their star anchor further humiliation after efforts to dismiss the suit failed.

ABC News agreed to pay the $15 million as a charitable contribution to a “Presidential foundation and museum to be established by or for [Trump], as Presidents of the United States of America have established in the past,” according to the settlement which also will pay $1 million in Trump’s attorney fees.

The network and Stephanopoulos will also issue statements of “regret” in the form of an editor’s note added to a March online article that led to Trump filing the lawsuit.

“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,” the note states.

During the contentious interview with the South Carolina Republican, a rape survivor, Stephanopoulos repeatedly claimed that Trump had been “found liable for rape” in a reference to a New York City jury ordering him to pay $5 million to E. Jean Carroll for allegedly sexually abusing her in a department store back in 1996, an incident that there is no proof of and which Trump has repeatedly denied happened.

“You’ve endorsed Donald Trump for president. Judges and two separate juries have found him liable for rape and for defaming the victim of that rape,” Stephanopoulos said, repeating his claim 10 times during the heated exchange with Mace.

“We are pleased that the parties have reached an agreement to dismiss the lawsuit on the terms in the court filing,” an spokesperson for ABC News told Fox News Digital.

It was noticed that the former Clinton mouthpiece and longtime Democratic party lickspittle seems to have deleted his X account.

X users weighed in on the “total victory” for Trump, a thorough humiliation for ABC News and its highly paid activist anchor.

“This is huge – total victory for Trump. Shame on George Stephanopoulos & ABC, who were forced to settle after the judge ordered George to sit for a deposition. They couldn’t have their star further embarrassed under oath. Good for Trump for fighting back,” conservative podcaster Megyn Kelly wrote.

“Can we get another article on how only corporate media can be trusted?” Pulitzer Prize winning journalist Glenn Greenwald asked.

“A great day for America. Journalists cannot convict someone of rape when they haven’t been convicted in a court of law. It has to stop. Trial by media is the death of journalism. George Stephanopoulos/ABC apologize to Trump, forced to pay $15 million,” former CBS News correspondent Lara Logan wrote.

The settlement should put the fake news industry on notice that there is a price to pay for their slander.

Chris Donaldson
Latest posts by Chris Donaldson (see all)

Comment

We have no tolerance for comments containing violence, racism, profanity, vulgarity, doxing, or discourteous behavior. If a comment is spam, instead of replying to it please click the ∨ icon below and to the right of that comment. Thank you for partnering with us to maintain fruitful conversation.

Latest Articles