Trump sues ABC, George Stephanopoulos for defamation after host accused him of rape in Mace interview
Former President Donald Trump has filed a defamation lawsuit against ABC News and George Stephanopoulos, claiming his reputation was tarnished by the anchor saying multiple times on-air that Trump had been found liable for raping writer E. Jean Carroll.
Trump filed the lawsuit in federal court in Miami on Monday over a viral interview between US Rep. Nancy Mace (R-SC) and Stephanopoulos on “This Week” on March 10, according to The Hill.
The suit takes aim at Stephanopoulos’ questioning for saying Trump had been found “liable for rape” when a jury in a Manhattan civil case last year only found Trump liable for sexual abuse under New York law.
“Judges and two separate juries have found him liable for rape and for defaming the victim of that rape. How do you square your endorsement of Donald Trump with the testimony we just saw? ” Stephanopoulos asked during the interview.
In a 20-page complaint, Trump’s attorney Alejandro Brito, accused Stephanopoulos of making the false statements “with actual malice or with a reckless disregard for the truth.” The lawsuit claims the statements were distributed widely to third parties and repeated.
“Indeed, the jury expressly found that Plaintiff did not commit rape and, as demonstrated below, Defendant George Stephanopoulos was aware of the jury’s finding in this regard yet still falsely stated otherwise,” Brito continued.
The interview cited in the lawsuit between Stephanopoulos and Mace, a Republican who has spoken out about being raped as a teenager, quickly took off online. In it, Stephanopoulos questions how Mace can still back Trump after he was found “liable for rape.”
A New York jury in May said Trump must pay $5 million in damages for sexually abusing Carroll and defaming her by calling her a liar. In a subsequent defamation lawsuit brought by Carroll, a Manhattan jury ordered Trump to pay $83.3 million to Carroll. Trump has appealed.
Trump also attempted to countersue Carroll over her continuing to accuse Trump of rape on cable news.
Trump has previously filed multiple similar and unsuccessful defamation lawsuits against media outlets whose coverage he dislikes, including a $475 million case against CNN that was tossed by a federal judge in July.
The former president asked for an unspecified amount of damages in the lawsuit.
ABC News declined to comment, while a rep for George Stephanopoulos did not immediately respond to a request for comment.
With Post wires
