ABC News settles defamation lawsuit with Trump, pays $15 million for presidential library

George Stephanopoulos and ABC apologize to Trump, are forced to pay $15 mn to settle defamation suit

ABC News has reached a settlement with Donald Trump, agreeing to pay $15 million toward his presidential library to resolve a defamation lawsuit. The lawsuit stemmed from an inaccurate statement made by anchor George Stephanopoulos during a March 10 segment on his “This Week” program, where he incorrectly claimed that Trump had been “found liable for rape” in connection with E. Jean Carroll’s civil lawsuits.

As part of the settlement, ABC News issued an editor’s note expressing regret over the statement, which was deemed to have misrepresented the verdicts in Carroll’s lawsuits. Additionally, the network will pay $1 million in legal fees to Trump’s attorney, Alejandro Brito. The payment will be transferred to an escrow account managed by Brito’s law firm.

The settlement follows a ruling by a Florida federal judge requiring depositions from Trump and Stephanopoulos, but with the settlement, sworn testimony is no longer necessary.

Trump had sued ABC and Stephanopoulos after the network aired the segment, which incorrectly stated that Trump had been found liable for rape, a verdict not included in the cases. The original court findings involved sexual abuse and defamation, not rape as defined by New York law.

ABC’s contribution will go toward Trump’s presidential library, although it will likely cover only a small portion of the project’s cost. The Obama Presidential Library, for example, was estimated to cost $830 million.

Trump is appealing the verdicts in both civil cases brought by Carroll, who accused him of sexual assault in the 1990s, an allegation he denies.

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