Former President Donald Trump is suing ABC News and journalist George Stephanopoulos for airing a segment that insisted he was found liable for rape.
During a recent interview with Rep. Nancy Mace (R-S.C.), Stephanopoulos asked about her support of Trump as he noted the findings from author E. Jean Carroll’s sexual battery and defamation case, saying, “Judges and two separate juries have found him liable for rape and for defaming the victim of that rape.”
However, the former president’s lawyers assert that claim is false.
“These statements were and remain false, and were made by Defendant Stephanopoulos with actual malice or with a reckless disregard for the truth given that Defendant Stephanopoulos knows that these statements are patently and demonstrably false,” Trump’s attorney, Alejandro Brito claimed.
He added, “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.”
Donald Trump is suing ABC News and George Stephanopoulos for defamation over the Nancy Mace interview.
— Justin Baragona (@justinbaragona) March 19, 2024
The case hinges on Stephanopoulos saying Trump was found liable for raping E. Jean Carroll. Instead, Trump says, he was only found liable for sexual assault. pic.twitter.com/WmRBa2OZsJ
Trump asked for an unspecified amount of damages in the suit.
The Washington Post noted in July that Judge Lewis Kaplan had rejected Trump’s argument that he was not found liable for rape.
“A judge has now clarified that this is basically a legal distinction without a real-world difference. He says that what the jury found Trump did was in fact rape, as commonly understood,” the Post reported.
However, the former president’s legal team has focused on the detail the jury found Trump liable for “sexual abuse” and not specifically rape.
