A Florida judge has denied ABC’s motion to dismiss a defamation lawsuit filed by former President Donald Trump against the Disney-owned network and its anchor, George Stephanopoulos. The lawsuit will now proceed.
The lawsuit centers on comments made by Stephanopoulos in March, where he inaccurately claimed that Trump was found “liable for rape” in a civil case.
In her ruling on Wednesday, Judge Cecilia Altonaga of the United States District Court in Miami stated, “A jury may, upon viewing the segment, find there was sufficient context. But a reasonable jury could conclude Plaintiff was defamed and, as a result, dismissal is inappropriate.”
Trump wrote a statement after the ruling on Truth Social: “A BIG WIN TODAY IN HIGH 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!”
Stephanopoulos made the contentious remarks during an exchange with Rep. Nancy Mace, R-S.C., on his Sunday program “This Week.” After playing a clip of Mace discussing her experience as a rape victim, Stephanopoulos asked, “How do you square your endorsement of Donald Trump with the testimony we just saw?”
“You’ve endorsed Donald Trump for president. Judges and two separate juries have found him liable for rape and for defaming the victim of that rape,” Stephanopoulos said, referring to the legal case involving Trump accuser E. Jean Carroll.
Stephanopoulos repeated the claim multiple times, despite the fact that a jury actually found Trump liable for “sexual abuse,” which has a different legal definition under New York law.
During an appearance on “The Late Show with Stephen Colbert” in May, Stephanopoulos defended his comments, stating, “Trump sued me because I used the word ‘rape,’ even though a judge said that’s in fact what did happen. We filed a motion to dismiss.”
After the federal jury’s verdict, Judge Lewis Kaplan clarified in a subsequent ruling that Carroll’s failure to prove rape under New York Penal Law did not mean she failed to prove that Trump ‘raped’ her as many people commonly understand the term.
In a related development, Trump suggested canceling a scheduled presidential debate with President Biden, following Biden’s withdrawal from the race and endorsement of Vice President Kamala Harris. Trump proposed that Fox News should host the debate instead.
“My debate with Crooked Joe Biden, the Worst President in the history of the United States, was slated to be broadcast on Fake News ABC, the home of George Slopadopolus, sometime in September. Now that Joe has, not surprisingly, quit the race, I think the Debate, with whomever the Radical Left Democrats choose, should be held on FoxNews, rather than very biased ABC. Thank you!,” Trump posted on Truth Social.