(ProsperNews.net) – Donald Trump has reached a $15 million settlement with ABC News and its lead anchor, George Stephanopoulos, in a defamation lawsuit, avoiding a costly and high-profile trial. The settlement, publicly filed on Saturday, resolves Trump’s claims stemming from Stephanopoulos’ repeated and inaccurate statements earlier this year that Trump was found “liable for rape.”
Under the terms of the settlement, ABC News will make a $15 million charitable contribution to a presidential foundation and museum that will be established by or for Trump, as is customary for former U.S. presidents. In addition, the network will pay $1 million to cover Trump’s legal fees.
As part of the agreement, ABC News and Stephanopoulos were also required to issue a statement of “regret,” which now appears as an editor’s note on the March 10, 2024, article that sparked the legal battle. The note reads: “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.”
ABC News issued a statement following the settlement, saying, “We are pleased that the parties have reached an agreement to dismiss the lawsuit on the terms in the court filing.”
The lawsuit was filed after Stephanopoulos repeatedly claimed during a contentious interview with Rep. Nancy Mace (R-S.C.) that Trump was found “liable for rape” in the E. Jean Carroll civil case. A jury in that case had actually determined Trump was liable for “sexual abuse,” not rape, as defined under New York law—a significant legal distinction.
Despite this, Stephanopoulos pressed the claim ten times during his exchange with Mace, prompting Trump’s defamation suit. Stephanopoulos initially dismissed the lawsuit’s significance, declaring on a talk show, “Trump sued me because I used the word ‘rape,’ even though a judge said that’s in fact what did happen.”
The settlement was finalized just days after U.S. Magistrate Judge Lisette M. Reid ordered both Trump and Stephanopoulos to sit for depositions ahead of a motion deadline. Trump’s legal team, led by Florida attorneys Alejandro Brito and Richard Klugh, coordinated the settlement in Florida’s Southern District Federal Court.
This resolution marks yet another legal victory for Trump’s team, managed under the direction of senior legal adviser Boris Epshteyn. The outcome underscores Trump’s continued success in pushing back against media narratives as he prepares to return to the White House in January.
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