Presumptive Republican nominee Donald Trump has spoken out with ABC News after the host of “This Week” said several times on air that the former president was “found responsible for rape.”・Although Mr. Stephanopoulos is being sued for defamation, it is debatable whether he is filing a legitimate lawsuit.
“The statement that Mr. Trump was found responsible for rape is a lie,” Fox News contributor Leo Terrell told Fox News Digital.
Rape victim Rep. Nancy Mace, R.S., asked President Bill Clinton’s former aide Stephanopoulos in a fiery interview this month how she could support former President Trump if he was found out. , said he felt personally attacked. Responsible for rape. ”
Mr. Stephanopoulos used the words “responsible for rape” 10 times during the interview, but a federal jury in New York held that Mr. Trump was responsible for rape in the 2023 civil trial of advice columnist E. Jean Carroll. The court ruled that although he was not liable, he was liable for sexual abuse and defamation. Against Trump.
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))
“Despite the fact that Donald Trump is a public figure and the standard for defamation is much higher, ABC News and George Stephanopoulos cannot reach a civil or criminal verdict of rape against Donald Trump. ” Terrell said.
“Let me be clear and simple,” he continued. “There is not a single legal document on earth that holds Donald J. Trump responsible for rape.”
Terrell, who has been a California attorney since 1990 and provides legal analysis across Fox News’ platforms, said ABC News and Stephanopoulos “have to write a very large check” to Trump. I feel that.
“In my legal opinion, Donald Trump is suing ABC News and George Stephanopoulos for defamation,” Terrell said. “As you may have noticed, other left-wing networks are now very careful not to use the phrase ‘responsible for rape.’ Their legal advisors must have advised them not to do so. ”
Trump sues ABC News and George Stephanopoulos for defamation
George Stephanopoulos said former President Trump was found to be “responsible for rape” multiple times in recent interviews. (Screenshot/ABC News)
Terrell said ABC News and Stephanopoulos “cannot claim ignorance” and said they had the money and resources to investigate the validity of the rape allegation before Mace’s interview. .
“The purpose of George Stephanopoulos’ statements was to intentionally undermine and undermine President Trump’s chances of becoming president,” Terrell said.
Andrew McCarthy, a Fox News contributor and former assistant attorney general for the Southern District of New York, feels otherwise.
“Politically, this may be a good move for Trump, especially in highlighting the hypocrisy of Stephanopoulos, who participated in President Clinton’s ‘slut explosion’ program in the 1990s. But legally, Trump ‘s defamation suit will fail,” McCarthy said. he told FOX News Digital.
“The jury in the first E. Jean Carroll trial did not find that Mr. Trump had not committed rape. Rather, they found there was insufficient evidence to conclude that rape had occurred. , found that Trump committed sexual abuse,” McCarthy continued. “Furthermore, in evaluating her jury’s verdict, Judge Kaplan reasoned that the jurors must have believed Carroll’s testimony that Trump had at least ‘digitally’ penetrated her.” Although this does not fall under New York law’s narrow definition of rape, Judge Kaplan elaborated that it does. Common understanding of rape. ”
Mr. McCarthy went on to state that “A–the fact that the jury found Mr. Trump responsible for the sexual abuse; Considering that, I don’t think Mr. Trump can show that.” Did Stephanopoulos slander him, or did he suffer some real harm from Stephanopoulos’ comments? ”
Nancy Mace hits back at George Stephanopoulos in heated exchange over support for Trump: ‘He’s trying to embarrass me’
George Stephanopoulos rose to fame working as a communications specialist in President Bill Clinton’s White House. (Reuters/Carlo Allegri)
The lawsuit, filed Monday in Florida, says Stephanopoulos’ statements were “false” and “given Stephanopoulos’ knowledge that these statements were demonstrably false, there was no evidence of actual malice.” or with reckless disregard of the truth. Additionally, court documents state that the jury “unequivocally found that plaintiff did not commit rape.”
The lawsuit notes that Trump’s representatives contacted ABC after the interview to request a retraction, but the Disney-owned news organization did not apologize or correct the record.
“Since making these false, malicious and defamatory statements, numerous news outlets have continued to quote Mr. Stephanopoulos and claim that the plaintiff was found guilty of rape,” Trump’s lawyers said in a statement. It continues to be broadcast unfairly.”
Social media was also polarized, with many Trump supporters taking news of the lawsuit as a victory, but Trump’s critics were quick to deny the suit’s legitimacy.
Attorney George Conway, one of President Trump’s most outspoken critics in the mainstream media, said that the former president is essentially suing “for what a federal judge has repeatedly stated in his opinion. “Because Mr. Stephanopoulos has repeatedly done so,” he said, adding that he feels this move will backfire.
“By filing this lawsuit, Mr. Trump will only draw further public attention to what he did to Carroll, and it is very likely that he and his lawyers will be sanctioned; indeed,” Conway said. He should be sanctioned,” he posted on X.
ABC News declined to comment on the lawsuit when contacted by Fox News Digital.
It seemed like business as usual for ABC News, as Mr. Stephanopoulos appeared on “Good Morning America” on Wednesday, the day after the lawsuit made national headlines. The network has previously supported Stephanopoulos.
“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.
Nancy Mace’s Office Calls on ABC Women’s Group to ‘Demand an Apology’ from George Stephanopoulos
Mr. Trump and his campaign have filed a series of defamation lawsuits against news organizations in recent years, including the New York Times, CNN, and the Washington Post after judges found that the essential elements of defamation were not met. The lawsuit against Post was dismissed.
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.
Mace supported Trump and called on Republicans to suspend Stephanopoulos from appearing on the Disney-owned network until he is held accountable.
“Bob Iger needs to take control of ABC News. Behavior like this is what caused the American public to lose trust in the news. ABC leadership deliberately lied about Donald Trump during an interview. Mr. Stephanopoulos must be held accountable immediately, or he will pay a high price for his responsibility.”Republicans should also stop appearing on ABC News until Mr. Stephanopoulos is held accountable.” Mace said in a statement.
“The verdict in question was crystal clear. The jury had the opportunity to find Mr. Trump responsible for the rape, but they chose not to do so,” she continued. “Partisan Democrats like George Stephanopoulos, who have masqueraded as the face of a supposedly unbiased news organization, are largely responsible for the drastic decline in the American public’s trust in the media.For too long, Democrats in the media have been Partisans have prioritized politics over facts, and the issue of truth.”
In a scathing statement, Mace also accused Stephanopoulos of being a “stain on the profession of journalism.”
Mace said, “He’s not fit to hold the microphone, much less pose like the beacon of truth.”
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ABC News declined to comment on Mace’s remarks.
Fox News Digital’s Hanna Panreck contributed to this report.
