ABC News has reached a settlement of $15 million with U.S. President-elect Donald Trump to resolve a defamation lawsuit stemming from incorrect statements made during a broadcast. The network’s anchor falsely claimed that Trump had been found “liable for rape” during an interview on March 10.
During the interview, anchor George Stephanopoulos repeatedly challenged Congresswoman Nancy Mace regarding her support for Trump, making false assertions about the legal findings against him. A jury in a prior civil case determined that Trump was liable for “sexual abuse,” a term defined under New York law.
As part of the settlement agreement, ABC will issue a public statement expressing regret for Stephanopoulos’s comments. Additionally, the network will contribute $15 million to a presidential foundation and museum associated with Trump, as is customary for former presidents. ABC also agreed to provide $1 million towards Trump’s legal expenses.
In an effort to clarify the situation, ABC will include an editor’s note on its webpage regarding the March 10 broadcast, acknowledging the error and the network’s regret concerning the statements made.
An ABC spokesperson expressed satisfaction that a resolution had been reached to dismiss the lawsuit. The legal challenges surrounding Trump include a 2023 civil court finding in which he was deemed to have sexually abused E. Jean Carroll in 1996. However, the jury failed to find sufficient evidence to classify the incident as rape under a specific definition in New York law.
Judge Lewis Kaplan emphasized that the legal definition of rape is significantly narrower than the general understanding of the term. In a separate case presided over by the same judge, Trump was ordered to pay $83.3 million to Carroll for defamatory statements.
During the contentious broadcast, Stephanopoulos questioned Congresswoman Mace about her endorsement of Trump, stating incorrectly that “judges and two separate juries have found him liable for rape,” a claim he reiterated multiple times throughout the segment.
As legal proceedings evolve, Trump has also pursued lawsuits against other entities, including CBS and the BBC, over allegations of deceptive practices in their reporting. Additionally, a judge dismissed his defamation lawsuit against CNN, which claimed the network had drawn parallels between him and Adolf Hitler, as well as similar actions against the New York Times and the Washington Post.
