ABC News has reached a settlement agreement to pay $15 million to former U.S. President Donald Trump’s presidential library to resolve a lawsuit stemming from comments made by anchor George Stephanopoulos. The lawsuit, filed on March 19 in the U.S. District Court for Southern Florida, was triggered by statements made by Stephanopoulos regarding the civil case brought against Trump by writer E. Jean Carroll.
The lawsuit accused Stephanopoulos of making these comments with malicious intent and a blatant disregard for the truth, arguing that the statements were widely disseminated and repeatedly shared. ABC News issued a statement confirming the settlement and the dismissal of the lawsuit based on the court’s terms.
The legal dispute was centered around a March 10 interview on This Week with U.S. Representative Nancy Mace, a Republican who has publicly shared her experience of being raped as a teenager. During the interview, Stephanopoulos remarked that Trump had been found liable for rape, questioning how Mace could still endorse him.
As part of the settlement, ABC News must issue a public statement by Sunday, which will appear at the bottom of the March 10 online article related to the interview. The statement will express regret for the comments made by Stephanopoulos during the interview with Mace.
