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ABC News and George Stephanopoulos agree to pay Trump $15 million to settle defamation lawsuit

In addition to the money, they must publicly apologize to the now-president-elect for statements made by the famous anchor in an interview with Nancy Mace.

The case filed by Trump revolves around an interview of Stephanopoulos with Nancy Mace/ Mandel Ngan.AFP

Published by
Joaquín Núñez

ABC News and its anchor, George Stephanopoulos, agreed to pay Donald Trump $15 million to settle the defamation lawsuit. In addition to the money, they must publicly apologize to the now-president-elect for statements Stephanopoulos made in an interview with Nancy Mace last March.

Trump initiated legal action in March after Stephanopoulos claimed on "This Week?" that a jury had found Trump "responsible for rape." The host made the claim at least 10 times while interviewing Congresswoman Mace.

The host was referring to the jury's verdict in the case brought by journalist E. Jean Carroll, in which Trump was found guilty of "sexual abuse and defamation," but not rape. The two meanings have different legal definitions under state law.

The settlement came after Judge Lisette M. Reid subpoenaed both parties for an in-person plea hearing. The deadline to avoid a trial was Dec. 24.

"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," reads the statement released by the television network.

"We are pleased that the parties have reached an agreement to dismiss the lawsuit on the terms in the court filing," an ABC spokesperson commented on the matter.

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Under the agreement, ABC will deposit the $15 million in escrow for Trump's future presidential library and foundation. In turn, it will pay $1 million in attorneys' fees and add an editors' note at the end of the relevant articles.

For his part, Trump agreed to drop the lawsuit and waive any legal claims that may have arisen from the interview. Florida attorneys Alejandro Brito and Richard Klugh represented the president-elect.

Stephanopoulos was initially reluctant to give Trump's lawsuit any weight. Indeed, he told host Stephen Colbert that he would not be "cowed out of doing my job because of a threat."

"Trump sued me because I used the word ‘rape,’ even though a judge said that’s in fact what did happen. We filed a motion to dismiss," he added at the time.

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