Former President Donald Trump has taken legal action by filing a defamation lawsuit in federal court against ABC News and its network anchor George Stephanopoulos. Trump claims that Stephanopoulos tarnished his reputation by stating that a jury found him “liable for rape” in the E. Jean Carroll case.
This incident took place during an interview with Rep. Nancy Mace (R-SC) on March 10, where Stephanopoulos mentioned that judges and two separate juries had found Trump liable for rape and for defaming the victim. As of Tuesday morning, neither Stephanopoulos nor ABC News has issued a correction or apology:
Stephanopoulos: "As a rape victim… how can you endorse Trump?"
Rep. Nancy Mace: "You're asking me a question about my political choices, trying to shame me as a rape victim. And I find it disgusting."
Source: ABC, This Week, Stephanopoulos pic.twitter.com/JaSvorCM2W
— Mario Nawfal (@MarioNawfal) March 10, 2024
According to a 20-page complaint filed by Alejandro Brito, Trump’s attorney, the Hill reported that Stephanopoulos made the false statements either “with actual malice” or “with a reckless disregard for the truth.”
“Indeed, the jury expressly found that Plaintiff did not commit rape and, as demonstrated below, Defendant George Stephanopoulos was aware of the jury’s finding in this regard yet still falsely stated otherwise,” Brito added.
“Stephanopoulos didn’t just say Trump was ‘liable’ for rape,” Breitbart News’s Joel Pollak explained. “That would be wrong, but he could have hid behind the judge’s claim that ‘sexual abuse’ is the same, colloquially, as rape. He specifically said a JURY found Trump liable. It did the opposite.”
I said at the time Trump had a defamation case against @GStephanopoulos and @ABC over the false claim a jury found him liable for rape (in reality, NOT liable). That's basically defamation "per se." Now Trump has sued. He often does. This time he's right. https://t.co/HTfYpIpSFx
— Joel Pollak (@joelpollak) March 19, 2024