ABC to pay $20m to Trump library to settle lawsuit, court documents show
Former US President Donald Trump speaks to members of the media at Manhattan Criminal Court in New York, US, on April 25, 2024.
PHOTO: Jeenah Moon via Reuters file
PUBLISHED ONDecember 15, 2024 3:14 AM
ABC News has agreed to give US$15 million (S$20 million) to US President-elect Donald Trump's presidential library to settle a lawsuit over comments that anchor George Stephanopoulos made on air involving the civil case brought against Trump by writer E. Jean Carroll, a court document filed on Saturday (Dec 14) showed.
The lawsuit, filed on March 19 in US District Court in Southern Florida, accused Stephanopoulos of making the statements with malice and a disregard for the truth. It said the statements were distributed widely to third parties and repeated.
"We are pleased that the parties have reached an agreement to dismiss the lawsuit on the terms in the court filing," an ABC News spokesperson said in a statement.
The lawsuit cites a March 10 interview with US Representative Nancy Mace, a Republican who has spoken publicly about being raped as a teenager. During the interview, Stephanopoulos said Trump was found liable for rape and asked her how she could endorse the candidate.
According to the settlement, ABC News must publish by Sunday a statement at the bottom of a March 10 online article that accompanied the interview.
"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," the statement must say, according to the court document.
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