ABC News has agreed to pay $15 million to a "presidential fund and museum" to settle Donald Trump's defamation lawsuit against the network and anchor George Stephanopoulos.
Agreement details
The settlement, made public on December 14, includes ABC News paying $1 million for Donald Trump's legal fees and issuing a public apology.
ABC News will publish a correction to the article related to the lawsuit, stating: "ABC News and George Stephanopoulos regret the statements regarding President Donald J. Trump made during George Stephanopoulos' interview with Congressman Nancy Mace on ABC's This Week on March 10, 2024."
“We are pleased that the parties have reached an agreement to close the case pursuant to the terms of the court filing,” an ABC News spokesperson said in a statement.
Where did the lawsuit originate?
Donald Trump filed a lawsuit earlier this year in federal court in Florida, accusing Stephanopoulos and ABC News of defamation. In a March 2024 interview, Stephanopoulos said 10 times that a jury had found Trump had “raped” former American journalist and writer E. Jean Carroll.
Ms Carroll accused Mr Trump of sexually assaulting her in a department store in the mid-1990s and sued Mr Trump for defamation when he denied the allegation. Mr Trump has denied any wrongdoing.
In 2023, a jury found that Mr. Trump had sexually harassed Ms. Carroll, enough to hold him liable for assault, but did not prove that he had committed rape under New York law.
Carroll was awarded $5 million for assault and defamation, and in early 2024, she received an additional $83.3 million for defamatory statements made by Trump later.
However, a judge in August 2023 ruled that Mr. Trump's claim of sexual harassment of Ms. Carroll was "substantially true" in a general sense, even if it did not fit the narrow definition under New York law.
Consequences of the agreement
In his lawsuit against ABC News, Mr. Trump asserted that Stephanopoulos's statements were "false, willful, malicious and intended to cause harm." The case was further complicated when a federal judge in July refused to dismiss Mr. Trump's lawsuit.
The settlement comes just a day after a judge ordered Trump and Stephanopoulos to testify next week, avoiding a potential legal risk for Trump as he prepares to return to the White House.
Mr. Trump and the media lawsuits
Mr. Trump has a history of suing major media organizations. In late October, he sued CBS for $10 billion, claiming that its 60 Minutes interview with Vice President Kamala Harris was “biased and unlawfully interfered” in the election, aiming to “mislead the public and tilt the balance of the election” in Harris’ favor.
ABC News' agreement to pay compensation is a significant development, continuing to reflect the strained relationship between Mr. Trump and leading media organizations.
