George Stephanopoulos Defamation Lawsuit: ABC News Settles With Trump - Key Details

ABC News Settles Defamation Lawsuit With Donald Trump For $15 Million Over George Stephanopoulos’ Comments

ABC News and George Stephanopoulos reached a settlement agreement with President-elect Donald Trump concerning his defamation lawsuit that required payment of 15 million dollars. Fox News contributors Jason Chaffetz plus Laura Fink publicly discussed ABC News settling with Donald Trump regarding this matter. The court officially dismissed Donald Trump’s lawsuit after this 15 million settlement.

Court Order Dismisses Defamation Case After $15 Million Agreement Between ABC and Trump

Chief U.S District Judge Cecelia Altonaga officially dismissed the lawsuit by Trump after ABC News settled for 15 million in payments. Both parties came to agreement as to avoiding costly legal action by reaching a settlement. This order stated both parties should bear their individual costs and lawyers’ payments. ABC agreed to give 15 million to be used towards a “Presidential Foundation and Museum” that has been common among many former Presidents. ABC news and George Stephanopoulos were also required to provide statements that admitted their regret regarding initial claims by offering an editor's note.

George Stephanopoulos and ABC News Apologize For Misstatements in Broadcast of March 10 2024

George Stephanopoulos Defamation Lawsuit: ABC News Settles With Trump - Key Details image 3

ABC News and George Stephanopoulos issued regret for assertions regarding Donald Trump during an interview segment with Representative Nancy Mace on This Week show March 10 2024 which prompted defamation lawsuit. George Stephanopoulos falsely stated during his March interview with Representative Nancy Mace that Donald Trump had been “liable for rape” in civil case. He went on to repeat that exact same claim ten times during his conversation with Representative Nancy Mace although the court case had distinct language used by legal authorities that confirmed the former President had been found "liable for sexual abuse". Judges and separate juries did determine that Donald Trump had defamed his victim as the case was underway.

Legal Discrepancies Highlighted Following Civil Verdict: Sexual Abuse vs Rape in Trump Case

A federal jury officially found Donald Trump responsible for sexual abuse though he was not found liable for rape which is defined as separate crime under specific laws according to legal texts and procedures. Judge Lewis Kaplan later added that failing to prove rape under New York Penal Law doesn’t negate fact that many would generally understand term as rape within social communities. U.S. Magistrate Judge Lisette M. Reid previously ordered both Donald Trump and George Stephanopoulos to testify under oath through deposition which prompted the settlement process to occur and thereby bypass the legal requirements for trial.

Terms of Settlement: ABC Pays $16 Million While Trump Avoids Court Appearances

Trump was represented in Southern District of Florida Federal Court by attorneys Alejandro Brito and Richard Klugh both working on this particular settlement. The final legal order between both parties included ABC news paying out 15 million dollars to be used towards an approved Presidential foundation and then an additional 1 million dollars would be paid to cover Trumps attorney fees plus statements of regret to finalize. ABC confirmed they found the case settled satisfactory with comments made by spokesperson. Fox News’ Gabriel Hayes and Brooke Singman contributed reporting to this ongoing developing situation which continues as multiple publications also provide their interpretation.

Speculation Surrounds Settlement Decision with ABC’s Silence Creating Curiosity Regarding Rationale

ABC's This Week program had no mention of the defamation settlement with Donald Trump that was filed on their own program and this caused much speculation in different news sources. ABC Network had a general position to not publicly discuss its settlement or the issues behind its case as executives expressed desire that issue was to disappear from public eye despite social media buzz. Many different groups took note such as partisan groups on both right and left wing sides all presenting individual takes on how this information should be interpreted. Media lawyers speaking to CNN noted it’s rare to experience settlements during these specific parts of the dispute especially where financial ramifications are so severe.

Key Timeline: Defamation Claim and Legal Maneuvers in Settlement Between Trump and ABC

The lawsuit came after George Stephanopoulos repeatedly declared Trump had been found guilty of rape which resulted in claims of “actual malice” from Donald Trump. ABC filed a claim to dismiss the case but this failed and the matter moved through different procedures including pre-trial discovery which involved scrutiny of emails among other materials. Judge Cecilia M. Altonaga stated ABC must release any remaining documentation to Trump legal team plus Donald Trump and George Stephanopoulos also were required to do official depositions. Court filings revealed last Friday agreement had been met by both Trump and ABC regarding all points that were previously considered contentious. Trump allies then used the released information to further show their support through multiple media outlets.

Legal Analysts Consider ABC Settled in Effort to Avoid Discovery Due to Multiple Possible Issues

Legal experts from firm Turkel Cuva Barrios observed potential motivating factors behind this sudden settlement from ABC to be that actively suing current president while in power presents a challenging undertaking for any private firm or business. Also they mentioned that when a media agency has not been able to dismiss the case previously that those firms would begin to move towards summary judgment instead of settling before this stage in legal proceedings. Several individuals suggest ABC had data that proved to be damaging to their case that would have been revealed to other side due to ongoing documentation exchanges which was being speculated by conservative host Erick Erickson on Twitter. The agreed funds were for Donald Trumps museum and foundation so this might be used to further taunt ABC’s settlement decision via museum designs with exhibits like “Gallery of Fake News”.

ABC News Facing Media Criticism as Trump Celebrates Court Victory with Public Payout

Media and legal analysts alike widely discussed this landmark case with long-time First Amendment attorney Floyd Abrams adding settlement clearly favored Donald Trump given his “sexual abuse” history even while the word “rape” may not apply by legal technicalities.. The lawsuit did add substantial reputational risk while exposing a factual misrepresentation and public figures such as Trump also have high barrier to meeting a standard for successful defamation claims creating substantial risk on side of ABC. Trump’s lawsuit while considered unsuccessful in many past instances in the end created substantial risk to Disney owned ABC prompting these unexpected and unforeseen actions.