Trump’s defamation lawsuit against ABC and George Stephanopoulos can move forward, judge says
Judge Cecilia Altonaga of the United States District Court in Miami rejected
ABC’s motion to dismiss a defamation lawsuit filed against the Disney-owned network and its anchor George Stephanopolous by former President Trump, allowing it to move forward.
The lawsuit follows comments Stephanopoulos made in March, when he falsely claimed that Trump had been found “liable for rape” in a civil case.
“A jury may, after viewing the segment, conclude that there was sufficient context. But a reasonable jury could conclude that the plaintiff was defamed and, therefore, that the dismissal is improper.”
The former president touted Truth Social’s decision, writing: “A BIG VICTORY TODAY IN THE UPPER FLORIDA COURT AGAINST ABC FAKE NEWS AND LIDDLE’ GEORGE SLOPADOPOLUS. A POWERFUL CASE! BEFORE YOU KNOW IT, THE FAKE NEWS MEDIA WILL BE FORCED BY THE COURTS TO START TELLING THE TRUTH. THIS IS A GREAT DAY FOR OUR COUNTRY. MAGA2024!”
ABC News declined to comment.
Stephanopoulos’ comments came during a tense exchange with Rep. Nancy Mace, R-S.C., on her Sunday show “This Week” in March.
After playing a clip of Mace explaining that she was a rape victim, Stephanopoulos asked her: “How do you reconcile your support for Donald Trump with the testimony we just saw?”
“You supported Donald Trump for president. Judges and two separate juries convicted him of rape and defamation of the rape victim,” Stephanopoulos said, referring to the court victory of Trump accuser E. Jean Carroll.
The ABC News anchor remained defiant about the trial during an appearance on “The Late Show with Stephen Colbert” in May.
“Trump sued me because I used the word ‘rape,’ even though a judge said that’s actually what happened,” Stephanopoulos said. “We filed a motion to dismiss.”
“After the federal jury found Trump liable for sexual abuse but not rape, Judge Lewis Kaplan wrote in a subsequent decision that the fact that Carroll failed to prove rape ‘within the meaning of New York criminal law’ does not mean she failed to prove that Mr. Trump ‘raped’ her as many people commonly understand the word ‘rape.'”
Fox News’ Joseph A. Wulfsohn contributed to this report.
