Donald Trump presidential library is set to be $15 million richer! This is a result of a settlement agreement between ABC News and Trump. Earlier, the former president dragged one of the network’s anchors, George Stephanopoulos, to court over defamation. Let’s see how the George Stephanopoulos lawsuit led to such a massive settlement.
Both parties agreed and signed the settlement on Friday, December 13, 2024, the same day Florida ruled that both parties would give their separate depositions on the case. But with the sanctioning of a settlement agreement, there will be no more need for the parties to give sworn testimonies.
On Saturday, December 14, 2024, ABC News posted an apology to its website as part of the settlement agreement. The outlet, through this editor’s note, expressed regret over the comments of their anchor, which labeled Trump a rapist on one of their programs.
The apology will also come with a $1 million payout to Trump’s lawyers to cover for the president-elect’s legal fees. But the most notable part of the settlement agreement is the $15 million payment which the agreement described as a “charitable contribution.”
The agreement is a huge plus to Trump, who has complained about being a target of negative press by most of the mainstream media. On the news outlet’s end, the settlement was their only way to avoid paying potentially much more if the George Stephanopoulos lawsuit had advanced to the end.
Speaking on the settlement, ABC News spokesperson Jeannie Kedas revealed the outlet’s satisfaction with the outcome. “We are pleased that the parties have reached an agreement to dismiss the lawsuit on the terms in the court filing,” she stated. However, a Trump spokesperson refused to comment on the issue.
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What Is the ABC News George Stephanopoulos Lawsuit About
On a March 10, 2024, segment of George Stephanopoulos’ program This Week, the broadcaster inaccurately stated that Trump had been found liable for raping writer E. Jean Carroll. He made the comment during an interview with South Carolina Republican Congresswoman Nancy Mace.
Contrary to his claim, the court had only found Trump liable for sexual abuse, which didn’t include rape. The issue came up during the interview partly because Nancy Mace had said she had been a victim of rape when she was 16.
What made the allegations more noticeable was that Stephanopoulos, also the anchor of the outlet’s Good Morning America program, made them on multiple occasions during the program. At one instance, he said Trump was “found liable for rape.” In another instance, he accused Trump of “defaming the victim of that rape.”
Unfortunately and likely unknown to him, New York defines sexual abuse differently from rape. The courts only ruled that Trump was guilty of sexually abusing and defaming Carroll. Consequently, the verdict ordered Trump to pay her $5 million in damages.
Following that, another ruling, which came in January 2024, found Trump liable for additional claims of defamation. This time, the ruling cost Trump $83 million in damages. Trump doesn’t agree with both rulings. He directed his lawyers to file appeals for them, which are still pending.
What Did E. Jean Carroll Accuse Donald Trump of Doing?
In 2019, columnist E. Jean Carroll published some damaging accusations against Donald Trump in her memoir. She said that the president-elect raped her sometime in the mid-1990s. Carroll said the incident occurred at a luxury Manhattan department store called Bergdorf Goodman.
She said that she and the billionaire investor had initially crossed paths at the entrance of the store, which was across the street from his Trump Tower office building. But Trump denied the allegations. He maintained that he never knew or met her at the store. But Trump didn’t stop there.
The president-elect launched a forceful media defense and lashed out at his accuser on multiple occasions. In one instance, he called her a “nut job.” He also accused her of fabricating the story to boost her memoir’s popularity and market relevance. In her response, she filed a lawsuit against him for defamation and asked that he take back his comments.
Detailing the encounter, Carroll said Trump had initially requested that she help him find a suitable gift for a woman. Afterward, he allegedly pinned her against a wall and covered her mouth with his. She also said that he forced down her tights before shoving his hand and penis into her private area.
She revealed that she was able to escape from his hold after she kneed him. The courts ruled mostly in her favor. But it couldn’t agree with her on the issue of rape, which, in the first trial, Judge Lewis Kaplan stated didn’t fall “within the narrow, technical meaning of a particular section of the New York Penal Law.”
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How Trump’s Lawsuit Against George Stephanopoulos Played Out
What the ABC anchor likely didn’t know was that New York law only defined rape as vaginal penetration. The ABC group probably understood this and decided to settle for a more conciliatory stance in the George Stephanopoulos lawsuit. That’s how Trump’s lawsuit against George Stephanopoulos ended with the agreement.
ABC agreed to pay the fee to the presidential library and the legal fees for the president-elect’s lawyers. Although the library hasn’t yet been built, the money will go to a nonprofit organization connected to the project. The outlet will pay the money to an escrow account, which Trump’s legal team manages within ten days.
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