Liberals on social media and on MSNBC are angry The ABC News libel settlement with President-elect Donald Trump, who sued the newspaper after host George Stephanopoulos claimed during a controversial interview with Rep. Nancy Mace that the president-elect had been “found liable for rape.”
“It seems to me that ABC actually had a very strong case with that language, with that quote, but chose to settle.” A settlement is not an admission of liability. Instead, it’s an agreement to end the matter in the best interests of But they agree to issue this statement of regret, which isn’t exactly an apology. But I do worry about the effect this could have on others and the chilling effect it could have on people who would otherwise be critical of Donald Trump. ” said MSNBC legal analyst Barbara McQuade during a Saturday discussion about the defamation settlement.
ABC News and Stephanopoulos reached a settlement with Trump in his defamation lawsuit on Saturday, which led to the news network paying the president-elect $15 million.
“I started to think that the ABC boardroom was somehow involved in this decision,” LA Times legal columnist Harry Litman said during the MSNBC appearance on Saturday. “And my big concern about making a more precise point about what Barb is saying is that it’s somehow wrapped up in the fact that he’s going to be president soon.”
MSNBC guests worry that ABC’s settlement with Trump will impact his critics in the media. (Screenshot/MSNBC)
“So I hope we’ll learn how the boardroom has affected the legal space here. But considering the timing, he’s on a roll, which is really troubling in terms of the public’s confidence in the criminal justice system and the confidence of the media, and whoever is left after the media tells the truth, he’s going to come after them , will make their lives miserable, and it has been successful so far,” Litman added.
“This seems quite targeted, and I don’t think George Stephanopoulos was wrong. I’m sorry,” MSNBC host Symone Sanders said during a conversation on the network on Saturday.
Marc E. Elias, a Democratic election lawyer, accused ABC News of bending the knee and kissing the ring by settling.
“Knee bent. Ring kissed. Another old news channel chooses obedience,” he wrote on X.
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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 were also required to issue statements of ‘regret’ as an editor’s note on March 10, 2024, online articleabout comments 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.”
Several liberals started posting on Bluesky, an app similar to Elon Musk’s X, after the election. Standard iron, a legal one analyst on CNN wrote that “George Stephanopoulos did not defame Trump — and I seriously doubt George wanted to settle.”
George Stephanopoulos speaks on ABC’s “This Week.” (ABC/Paula Lobo via Getty Images)
TRUMP sues ABC NEWS and GEORGE STEPHANOPOULOS for defamation
“First the LA Times, then the Washington Post and now ABC News. They all fall into the hands of Donald Trump. When George Stephanopoulos said Trump “raped” E. Jean Carroll, he was using the word colloquially. Trump was found liable for sexual abuse. to attack her,” USA Today reported columnist wrote further Blue sky.
Justin Baragonaa former Daily Beast reporter now writing for the Independent wrote of Bluesky, “This sets a troubling precedent.”
McQuade also joined MSNBC’s Ali Velshi to discuss the settlement, saying the fact that ABC News “caved in” was concerning.
“But normally in defamation cases you have to prove that the person has been defamed, that there is actual malice and that the core of the story was false. Moreover, you have to prove that the person’s reputation has been damaged in this way. It seems that ABC had a very strong case here and yet they still kind of caved. And I think it sends a bad message to other media companies; it could have a chilling effect or self-censoring effect on the media, like them Of course, a strong free press is essential to any government, especially one in which Donald Trump has vowed to go after his enemy,” McQuade said.
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Fox News’ Gabriel Hays and Brook Singhman contributed to this report.
