The defamation lawsuit originated from inaccurate on-air statements made by a prominent ABC News anchor regarding a sexual abuse case involving Donald Trump.
ABC News has agreed to settle the case by paying $15 million after President-elect Donald Trump filed a defamation suit over claims made by anchor George Stephanopoulos. The anchor falsely stated during a broadcast that Trump had been “found liable for raping” writer E. Jean Carroll.
As part of the settlement, ABC News and Stephanopoulos will issue public apologies during a live segment of This Week featuring an interview with Representative Nancy Mace, according to court documents filed on Saturday.
The settlement terms also include a $15 million donation by ABC News to a fund supporting “a presidential foundation and museum” associated with Trump. Additionally, the network will cover $1 million in legal fees, the documents revealed.
Trump filed the lawsuit in federal court in Miami shortly after the broadcast, where Stephanopoulos repeatedly misstated the outcomes of two civil cases brought by Carroll against Trump. While Trump was found liable for sexual abuse—a distinct legal term from rape under New York law—in a 2023 case, Stephanopoulos’ remarks misrepresented the jury’s findings.
In the first lawsuit, Trump was found liable for sexually abusing and defaming Carroll, resulting in a $5 million judgment. In a subsequent trial in January, held in federal court in Manhattan, Trump was found liable for additional defamation claims and ordered to pay $83.3 million. Both verdicts are currently under appeal.
Carroll, a former advice columnist, alleged in her 2019 memoir that Trump raped her in the mid-1990s at Bergdorf Goodman, a luxury department store near Trump Tower in Manhattan.
The settlement was reached one day after Judge Lisette M. Reid ordered depositions from both Trump and Stephanopoulos.
This resolution marks yet another legal victory for Trump following his November 5 presidential election win. In recent weeks, a U.S. appeals court dismissed charges against Trump related to alleged mishandling of classified documents, and U.S. Special Counsel Jack Smith paused a separate federal case concerning Trump’s efforts to challenge the 2020 election results. However, Trump still faces racketeering charges in Georgia over the same issue.
Additionally, sentencing in Trump’s May conviction in the hush-money case—the only criminal charges to go to trial—has been indefinitely delayed by a judge.
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