ABC News anchor George Stephanopoulos ignored the news the vast settlement of its network with newly elected President Donald Trump during his Sunday show.
Fox News digital first reported Saturday that ABC News and Stephanopoulos agreed to a settlement to avoid a costly trial over Trump’s defamation lawsuit against the network and its host.
However, news of the settlement did not appear on ABC’s “This Week.” Instead, Stephanopoulos focused on stories about unidentified drones over New Jersey, ongoing conflict in Syria and Trump’s Cabinet choices.
He too his X account deleted during the weekend.
George Stephanopoulos avoided referring to the news of ABC’s settlement with newly elected President Donald Trump on Sunday. (ABC News screenshot)
Stephanopoulos was the focus of the lawsuit after claiming that Trump was “found responsible for rape” in a civil case during a controversial interview with Rep. Nancy Mace, R-S.C., last March.
After playing a clip of Mace discussing being a rape victim, Stephanopoulos asked her, “How do you reconcile your support for Donald Trump with the testimony we just saw?”
“You supported Donald Trump for president. Judges and two separate juries have found him liable for rape and for defaming the victim of that rape,” Stephanopoulos said, referring to the legal victory of Trump accuser E. Jean Carroll.
Stephanopoulos repeated that claim 10 times during his feud with Mace, despite the fact that a jury had actually found Trump liable for “sexual abuse,” which has a separate definition under New York law.
The host of “This Week” was initially defiant of the lawsuit When asked about it in May, he added that he “would not be deterred from doing my job because of a threat.”
Stephanopoulos repeatedly claimed that Trump was held liable for rape during a March broadcast. (Getty Images)
“Trump sued me for using the word ‘rape’ even though a judge said it actually happened. We have filed a motion to dismiss,” Stephanopoulos told late night host Stephen Colbert.
Under the settlement, ABC News will pay $15 million as a charitable contribution to a “Presidential Foundation and Museum to be established by or for Plaintiff, such as Presidents of the United States of America have established in the past.” In addition, the network will pay $1 million in Trump’s attorney fees.
Stephanopoulos and ABC News also had to issue statements of “regret” as an editor’s note at the bottom of a March 10, 2024, online article about comments made earlier this year that prompted Trump to file a defamation lawsuit. The note reads: “ABC News and George Stephanopoulos regret statements about President Donald J. Trump made during an interview by George Stephanopoulos with Representative Nancy Mace on ABC’s This Week on March 10, 2024.”
ABC News said the network was “pleased” to have concluded the case.
ABC News and Stephanopoulos paid a $15 million settlement in the defamation lawsuit against Trump. (Getty Images)
“We are pleased that the parties have reached an agreement to dismiss the lawsuit on the terms of the lawsuit,” an ABC News spokesperson told Fox News Digital.
CLICK HERE TO DOWNLOAD THE FOX NEWS APP
Fox News’ Gabriel Hays contributed to this report.
