MSNBC host Simone Sanders Townsend spoke out Sunday about the settlement of President-elect Donald Trump's defamation lawsuit against ABC and news anchor George Stephanopoulos, saying the outcome could have a “really chilling effect.” It was suggested that there is a sex.
Sanders Townsend appears concerned about legal penalties for inaccurate statements now that passengers have been charged, but Fox News over allegations that its machines were used to commit fraud Sanders-Townsend sang a different tune when the News agreed to pay Dominion Voting Systems $787.5 million. Rigging the 2020 Election.
background
President-elect Donald Trump sued ABC and George Stephanopoulos announced earlier this year that Interview on March 10th In it, the ABC News host referenced the verdict in Carroll's sexual assault and defamation lawsuit and falsely stated that the Republican was found responsible by multiple juries for the rape of E. Jean Carroll. did. The complaint accuses Stephanopoulos of acting with “actual malice or reckless disregard for the truth.”
In a conversation with Rep. Nancy Mace, RN.C., the ABC News host said, “You supported Donald Trump as a presidential candidate. The judge and two jurors said he was a rapist. “We have determined that he is responsible for defaming the reputation of the rape victim.” “Donald Trump Found Responsible for Rape by Jury.” “What I am asking is why did you support someone who was found to be responsible for the rape?'' “It was a civil court that found him responsible for the rape.'' Will we support those found responsible?”
“I think the lesson going forward is that the truth matters.”
Mr. Stephanopoulos seemed persistent, but he was completely wrong. jurors in both cases Found President Trump is responsible for rape.
According to document ABC filed the lawsuit in federal district court on Saturday and settled the case by paying Trump's yet-to-be-established presidential library $15 million and paying Trump's lawyers $1 million in legal fees. .
ABC News also added the following editor's note addressing the interview in question at the end of the article: “ABC News and George Stephanopoulos are pleased to announce that Nancy Mace by George Stephanopoulos on ABC's 'This' “I deplore the comments made regarding President Donald J. Trump during an interview with a member of the House of Representatives” the week of March 10, 2024. ”
Network spokesperson said “We are pleased that the parties have reached an agreement to dismiss the lawsuit based on the terms submitted to the court,” CBS News said in a statement.
ABC News is clearly pleased with the outcome, but Sanders Townsend, a left-wing spokesperson who previously took offense at the FBI's use of the word “raid” in reference to the Mar-a-Lago attack, Stephanopoulos suggested: Right there, and the results were troubling.
selective interest
When Fox News agreed to pay $787.5 million in April 2023 to settle a defamation lawsuit with Dominion, he worked on the Biden-Harris transition team in 2020 and was then responsible for reporting on President Biden. Mr. Saunders Townsend, a government official, sounded delighted.
After mocking a statement released by the center-right network, she suggested that Fox News' reference to journalistic integrity made her 'blind-eyed' [get] It’s huge,” Sanders Townsend said. said“Going forward, I think every actor that enters a media organization, whether it's politicians or campaigns, is going to have to decide how they want to engage with Fox News going forward.”
Sanders-Townsend noted the high nature of the settlement and suggested that “someone at Fox will have to answer for this, but I very much doubt that it will ultimately come down to a staffing issue.” did.
“I think the lesson going forward is that truth matters,” Sanders-Townsend said. “It's very important to speak up, to speak with facts, and when someone is lying, to call it a lie and show in your work why that is so.”
When it came time for ABC News to pay for its on-air lies, Sanders-Townsend took a different approach.
Sanders-Townsend said in response to a guest's suggestion that news organizations have a duty to be “candid and objective when it comes to Donald Trump.” said “I just want to say, I mean, I feel like this has a really chilling effect,” he said on MSNBC's “The Weekend” Sunday.
“So, shout out to the standards department, who always makes sure that standards are kept high, substantive and accurate,” Sanders-Townsend continued. “But what George Stephanopoulos said in that interview appears to be consistent with what the judge said after the fact. And now his press organization and George Stephanopoulos himself are paying out of his personal fortune. We’re paying lawyers $1 million,” and ABC is $15 million. ”
Sanders-Townsend was not the only liberal figurehead to take a markedly different approach to the two settlements.
CNN's Brian Stelter looked giddy when he reported on the Fox settlement last year. tell Yahoo Finance says, “Nearly $800 million was spent on these lies spread on TV. This will be a landmark moment for accountability regarding the Big Lie.”
After the ABC News settlement, Mr. Stelter lost his enthusiasm and agreed with CNN talking head Jim Acosta that “it's just going to have a chilling effect on the news industry.”
“The answer is yes. Media lawyers are concerned about this. They are preparing for it,” Stelter said. “They are preparing their newsrooms for more lawsuits, leak investigations, and subpoenas in the coming months and years.”
“As you know, this could result in vandalism,” Stelter continued. “We are in a situation where we expect to see more lawsuits of this type.”
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