E in her ruling. “The court finds that the complaint is sufficient to withstand a motion to dismiss.”
Trump’s lawsuit against Stephanopoulos and ABC News stems from an interview the former president conducted with South Carolina Rep. Nancy Mace in January, where Stephanopoulos allegedly misrepresented the findings of the Manhattan jury in Carroll’s case.
Stephanopoulos had sought to dismiss the lawsuit, arguing that his statements were protected by the fair report privilege, which allows journalists to accurately report on judicial proceedings without fear of defamation claims. However, Judge Altonaga disagreed, finding that Trump’s complaint had merit and could proceed to trial.
The decision is a blow to Stephanopoulos and ABC News, who will now have to defend themselves in court against Trump’s defamation claims. The case is set to proceed to trial, where a jury will determine whether Stephanopoulos and ABC News are liable for defamation in their coverage of Trump’s legal troubles.
Representatives for Stephanopoulos and ABC News did not immediately respond to requests for comment on the ruling.
This is not the first time Trump has sued media outlets for defamation. The former president has a history of taking legal action against news organizations and journalists who he believes have misrepresented him or his actions. Trump has also been a vocal critic of Stephanopoulos and ABC News, accusing them of bias and unfair treatment in their coverage of his presidency.
The outcome of this lawsuit could have far-reaching implications for the media industry, as it raises questions about the limits of journalistic privilege and the responsibilities of reporters when covering high-profile legal cases. The case is likely to attract significant attention from media organizations and legal experts, as it could set a precedent for how journalists report on controversial legal matters in the future.
George Stephanopoulos can’t dismiss Trump defamation suit: Judge
U.S. District Judge Cecilia M. Altonaga denied the motion to dismiss Trump’s defamation lawsuit against ABC News and Stephanopoulos, who was accused of mischaracterizing a jury’s finding that a Manhattan jury found Trump liable for sexual assault in the separate defamation case brought by former columnist E. Jean Carroll.
E. Jean Carroll leaves Federal court, Friday, Jan 26, 2024, in New York. A jury has awarded an additional $83.3 million to Carroll, who says former President Donald Trump damaged her reputation by calling her a liar after she accused him of sexual assault. (AP Photo/Yuki Iwamura)
“Defendants have not met their burden of proving the fair report privilege applies,” Altonaga, an appointee of former President George W. Bush, wrote in a 21-page order. “Any remaining questions as to the reasonableness of Stephanopoulos’s statements are not for resolution on a motion to dismiss.”
Trump’s defamation suit stems from statements made by Stephanopoulos during a March 10, 2024, interview with Rep. Nancy Mace (R-SC). During the broadcast on This Week hosted by Stephanopoulos, he repeatedly stated Trump had been “found liable for rape” in connection with the Carroll case. This assertion, Trump claimed, was defamatory, because the jury did not come to that specific conclusion.
ABC’s Stephanopoulos: “As a rape victim… how can you endorse Trump?”
Rep. Nancy Mace: “You’re asking me a question about my political choices, trying to shame me as a rape victim. And I find it disgusting.”pic.twitter.com/nIVDFWtYRw
The background of the litigation involves two related cases, known as Carroll I and Carroll II, presided over by Judge Lewis A. Kaplan in the Southern District of New York. In Carroll II, a jury found Trump liable for sexually abusing Carroll but did not find him liable for rape under New York Penal Law. Despite this, Kaplan characterized the jury’s finding as equivalent to rape in common parlance, leading to some confusion and ambiguity in public interpretations of the verdict.
Trump commended the decision in a statement to Truth Social on Wednesday, calling it a “A BIG WIN TODAY IN HIGH FLORIDA COURT AGAINST ABC FAKE NEWS, AND LIDDLE’ GEORGE SLOPADOPOLUS.”
“A POWERFUL CASE! BEFORE YOU KNOW IT, THE FAKE NEWS MEDIA WILL BE FORCED BY THE COURTS TO START TELLING THE TRUTH. THIS IS A GREAT DAY FOR OUR COUNTRY. MAGA2024,” Trump wrote.
In response to the allegations of defamation, ABC News and Stephanopoulos argued that the statements made during the interview were substantially true and protected by the fair report privilege, which shields journalists from some legal liability for their accurate coverage of official proceedings or documents. They contended that Kaplan’s interpretation justified their characterization of the jury’s findings.
However, Altonaga found that these arguments could not be conclusively resolved at this stage of the lawsuit. She noted that while Kaplan had indeed offered an interpretation aligning the jury’s findings with a common understanding of rape, the jury’s explicit verdict did not support the specific language used by Stephanopoulos. This distinction, she ruled, created enough ambiguity to warrant further examination by a jury.
In the motion to dismiss the case, the defendants argued that Kaplan’s rulings in Carroll I and II should preclude Trump’s current defamation claims. Altonaga disagreed, stating that the context and specific statements in the present case were sufficiently distinct from those in the Carroll cases to allow Trump’s lawsuit to proceed.
The fair report privilege, which protects journalists when reporting on official proceedings, was also cited by the defense. Altonaga acknowledged that while this privilege offers broad protections, it does not apply when the reporting is misleading or lacks crucial context.
Given the possibility for Stephanopoulos’s statements to mislead viewers about the jury’s actual findings, she determined that this defense could not be decided at this stage.
The case will now proceed to further litigation, where both parties will have the opportunity to present their evidence and arguments in detail.
The Washington Examiner contacted ABC News for a statement.
