ABC News agrees to donate $15 million to Trump Foundation to settle defamation lawsuit
ABC News has agreed to donate $15 million to President-elect Trump’s presidential foundation and museum to settle a defamation lawsuit filed by Trump, according to documents filed Saturday in federal district court. Trump had accused ABC News anchor George Stephanopoulos of his conduct in a March 10 interview with South Carolina Republican Rep. Nancy Mace that Trump was “found responsible for rape.” Trump claimed in the filing that Stephanopoulos “knew that these statements were patently and demonstrably false.” As part of the settlement, ABC News must also post an “Editor’s Note” at the bottom of a March 10 online article related to the interview, which reads: “ABC News and George Stephanopoulos regret the statements made by George Stephanopoulos about President Donald J. Trump during his March 10, 2024 interview with Nancy Mace on ABC’s This Week.” Trump’s presidential foundation and museum have not yet been established. The settlement signed Friday was signed by both Trump and Stephanopoulos. Earlier on Friday, before the two sides reached an agreement, District Judge Reed ordered Trump to testify in person in the Southern District of Florida, where his Mar-a-Lago estate is located. Reed said the questioning would be limited to four hours. She also ordered Stephanopoulos to testify next week as well, either in person or remotely. In May 2023, a New York federal jury found Trump liable for sexual abuse by writer E. Jean Carroll in a dressing room at a Bergdorf Goodman department store in New York City in the mid-1990s. Trump was also found liable for defaming Carroll for comments he made after her death. A book was published in 2019 detailing the alleged encounter. The jury ordered him to pay Carroll $5 million in damages. In January 2024, Trump was again found liable for defamation by a New York federal jury in a separate lawsuit filed by Carroll. The jury ordered him to pay another $83.3 million in damages.
