ABC, its news division and one of the network’s star anchors, George Stephanopoulos, have agreed to pay $15 million to settle a defamation lawsuit brought earlier this year by then-presidential candidate Donald Trump.
The settlement puts an end to a monthslong legal dispute regarding on-air comments made by Stephanopoulos on his Sunday morning news program, “This Week with George Stephanopoulos.”
During a March 10 interview with Rep. Nancy Mace, a South Carolina Republican, the veteran journalist said Trump had been found liable for raping writer E. Jean Carroll.
In May 2023, a federal jury in Manhattan found the former president liable for sexually abusing the famed Elle columnist. However, the panel of six men and three women rejected her rape claim as defined under New York law.
As part of the settlement agreement — signed by Trump, Stephanopoulos and ABC executives on Friday — the network agreed to transfer $15 million to an escrow account managed by the president-elect’s lawyers as a “charitable contribution” to go toward “a presidential foundation and museum to be established by or for” Trump.
The network also agreed to pay $1 million in legal fees to the law firm of Trump’s attorney, Alejandro Brito.
Both deposits must be completed within 10 calendar days.
Additionally, ABC agreed to add the following apology statement to an online article about the interview, headlined “Nancy Mace defends her support for Trump after he was found liable for sexual assault”:
“ABC News and George Stephanopoulos regret statements regarding President Donald J. Trump made during an interview by George Stephanopoulos with Rep. Nancy Mace on ABC’s This Week on March 10, 2024.”
The one-sentence statement was required to be published within one calendar day as an editor’s note at the bottom of the article, according to the settlement agreement.