ABC News has agreed to pay $15 million to President-elect Donald Trump’s presidential foundation and museum as part of a settlement in a defamation lawsuit filed by Trump, according to documents submitted to U.S. District Court on Saturday.
The lawsuit stemmed from comments made by ABC News anchor George Stephanopoulos during a March 10 interview with Republican Rep. Nancy Mace of South Carolina. Stephanopoulos stated that Trump had been “found liable for rape,” prompting Trump to accuse him of acting “with actual malice or with a reckless disregard for the truth.” In his filing, Trump argued that Stephanopoulos “knows that these statements are patently and demonstrably false.”
As part of the settlement, ABC News is required to publish an editor’s note on the March 10 online article associated with the interview. The note reads: “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.”
Trump’s presidential foundation and museum, which will receive the settlement funds, have yet to be established.
Earlier Friday, before the settlement was reached, Magistrate Judge Lisette Reid had ordered President Trump to appear for an in-person deposition in the case next week in the Southern District of Florida, near his Mar-a-Lago estate. The deposition was to be limited to four hours.
Judge Reid also directed George Stephanopoulos to give a deposition next week, either remotely or in person.
