According to leading legal expert Danny Caron, ABC is hiring George Stephanopoulos after the “This Week” anchor was accused of defamation by likely Republican nominee Donald Trump. He says he has no choice but to support it.
Earlier this month, Stephanopoulos told ABC’s “This Week” in a heated interview with Rep. Nancy Mace, R.C., that the former president had been “found responsible for rape” several times. also mentioned. However, a federal jury in New York ruled in the 2023 civil case of advice columnist E. Jean Carroll v. Trump that Trump was not liable for rape but was liable for sexual abuse and defamation. .
“Mr. Stephanopoulos’ statement was a little free and loose,” Kalon told Fox News Digital.
The incident was not featured on Sunday’s latest episode of “This Week,” according to records. Jonathan Karl served as host in Stephanopoulos’ place.
Trump sues ABC News and George Stephanopoulos for defamation
According to leading legal expert Danny Caron, ABC has announced that George Stephanopoulos will be closing the deal after the This Week anchor was accused of defamation by likely Republican nominee Donald Trump. He says he has no choice but to support it. (Roy Rochlin/Getty Images)
The lawsuit, filed Monday in Florida, notes that Trump’s representatives contacted ABC after the interview to request a retraction, but the Disney-owned news station did not apologize or correct the record. ABC supported Stephanopoulos after the interview, but has declined to comment since the lawsuit was filed.
Kallon, a litigation lawyer and law professor, doesn’t expect Stephanopoulos to apologize or provide an explanation anytime soon.
“If you think about it, that makes sense. Even if one of the defendants apologizes or retracts what they said, it doesn’t take away what they said. It just verifies it with the evidence.” is an admission that they said something and that it was wrong, so they took it back. So now they have a lawsuit with a confession, which is even worse. “It will be,” Caron said.
“It’s the same dynamic that happens in a medical malpractice case, for example, when the doctor leaves the sponge inside and she doesn’t want to apologize. Because, you know? It’s just going to be used against us. We can’t do that. We won’t do that,” he continued. “This is a sad testimony to what we have come to by means of litigation, and it is vividly presented here.”
ABC News, Trump’s defamation lawsuit against George Stephanopoulos could be anything from ‘slam dunk’ to ‘tort’
George Stephanopoulos said former President Trump was found to be “responsible for rape” multiple times in recent interviews. (Screenshot/ABC News)
After a federal jury found Trump responsible for the sexual abuse but not guilty of rape, Judge Lewis Kaplan ruled in a subsequent ruling that Carroll “proved rape within the meaning of New York criminal law.” “Just because she couldn’t do that doesn’t mean she couldn’t prove that she was guilty of rape.” Mr. Trump “raped” her, as many people commonly understand the word “rape” her. ”
While some may see this as a gray area, Kalon feels that if someone had whispered in Stephanopoulos’ earpiece, “Don’t call it rape. Switch to sexual assault,” the whole issue would have been neutralized. ing.
Instead, Stephanopoulos repeated the words “responsible for rape” 10 times during the interview.
“The networks stand by it because they have to, because nothing is inadmissible, and it’s a confession, and it’s admissible in courts and trials and under the Federal Rules of Evidence. . And that’s making things even worse,” Caron said. “Part of the blame for what we’re seeing here lies with the system.”
ABC News’ George Stephanopoulos inaccurately says President Trump was found ‘responsible for rape’ 10 times, legal expert says
Donald Trump is suing ABC News and George Stephanopoulos for defamation. (Left: Photographer: Al Drago/Bloomberg via Getty Images, Right: (Photographer: Jose Perez/Bauer-Griffin/GC Images))
This does not mean President Trump will definitely sue. That’s because Caron isn’t sure the former president can prove the $75,000 in damages he needs to sue in a federal defamation lawsuit. “If the defendant seeks to dismiss on that basis, I will be with you,” he said.
Caron also finds it difficult to prove that Stephanopoulos’ comments were made with “actual malice,” and would need to be proven by a standard public figure to succeed in such a lawsuit. It won’t happen.
“I think the defendant will try to prove that the elements of the claim are not met, and if they are, there will be no damages,” Caron said.
Trump and his campaign have filed a series of defamation lawsuits against news organizations in recent years. new york timesCNN and the Washington Post were rejected because a judge said they did not meet the essential elements of defamation.
In 2020, President Trump’s reelection campaign settled a defamation lawsuit against an NBC affiliate in Wisconsin for running a political ad that included a doctored video of Trump calling the coronavirus a “hoax.” did.
The ABC has so far supported Mr. Stephanopoulos.
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“George did his job by asking relevant and meaningful questions to his viewers,” an ABC News spokesperson told Fox News Digital about Mace’s interview before the lawsuit was filed.
