In a major win for President-elect Donald Trump in his fight against the media, some sections of which he claims are biased against him, ABC News has agreed to pay $23.61 million (US$15 million) to Trump to settle a defamation lawsuit.

ABC’s star anchor George Stephanopoulos falsely said Trump had been found “liable for rape” during a segment which was aired in March this year while challenging a Republican congresswoman Nancy Mace about her support for Trump.

The anchor falsely said “judges and two separate juries have found him liable for rape”.

Stephanopoulos repeated the claim 10 times throughout the broadcast.

Last year, a jury found that Trump had “sexually abused” Carroll under New York law, but did not rape her.

Judge Lewis Kaplan said 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”.

Trump was subsequently ordered to pay Carroll $7.87 million (US$5 million). He was also ordered to pay Carroll $131.12
million (US$83.3 million) after being found liable on defamation claims. Trump is appealing against both verdicts.

As part of Saturday’s settlement, ABC also published an editor’s note expressing its “regret” for the statements by Stephanopoulos at the bottom of page where the digital version of the story appears on its website.

The statement reads: “Editor’s Note: 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.”

President Donald Trump

 

ABC News will pay $23.61 million as a charitable contribution to a “Presidential foundation and museum to be established by or for Plaintiff, as Presidents of the United States of America have established in the past”.

The amount would go towards Trump’s future presidential library, US media reported.

ABC also agreed to pay $1. 57 million (US$1 million) towards Trump’s legal fees.