15 million dollar 'Trump' fine for US national network
ABC News, one of the leading national networks in the US, will pay 15 million dollars in damages in a defamation lawsuit filed by President-elect Donald Trump.
AA
An agreement reached between ABC News and Trump's legal team has been made public.
Accordingly, ABC News and anchor George Stephanopoulos have agreed to pay 15 million dollars in damages as a charitable donation to a "presidential foundation or museum to be established by or on behalf of the plaintiff" and to issue a public apology in the defamation case brought by Donald Trump.
The television organization will also pay 1 million dollars for the plaintiff's legal fees.
Sharing a post about the agreement on his X social media account, Trump stated, "This settlement represents a significant legal victory for Trump and underscores the importance of accuracy in journalism, especially when it comes to public figures."
Earlier this year, Trump filed a defamation lawsuit in federal court in Florida after anchor Stephanopoulos repeated 10 times during an interview on ABC News that a jury in the E. Jean Carroll case in New York had found Trump guilty of "rape."
Magazine writer E. Jean Carroll, 80, had claimed that Trump raped her in a dressing room at the Bergdorf Goodman department store in New York in the spring of 1996, while Trump had denied the allegations.
In the "rape and defamation" lawsuit filed by Carroll, the court jury found Trump liable for battery, defamation, and sexual abuse in May 2023, but decided that Carroll had failed to prove the "rape" claim.
The court had ordered Trump to pay 5 million dollars for battery and defamation, and 83.3 million dollars in damages for the harm caused to the plaintiff.