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The Finance Base
ABC News

Why ABC Agreed to Pay $15 Million in Trump Defamation Lawsuit Settlement

ABC agreed to contribute $15 million to a Trump library-related nonprofit and pay $1 million in legal fees. The settlement was not a finding of ABC liability.

By TheFinanceBase Team 3 min read
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ABC News agreed to contribute $15 million to a nonprofit planned in connection with Donald Trump’s presidential library as part of a December 2024 settlement of Trump’s defamation lawsuit. The agreement also called for a separate $1 million payment to the law firm of Trump’s attorney. The settlement was not a court judgment finding ABC liable.

What ABC agreed to pay

The Associated Press reported that the settlement agreement described the $15 million as a “charitable contribution” for a nonprofit being established in connection with Trump’s then-planned presidential library. It was not described as a personal cash payment to Trump. The agreement separately required ABC to pay $1 million in legal fees to the law firm of Trump’s attorney, Alejandro Brito. AP reported that both payments were due within ten days of the agreement; the reviewed reporting does not independently confirm whether the transfers were completed or establish the nonprofit’s current status. Associated Press report on the settlement

Settlement term Purpose
$15 million Agreed charitable contribution toward a nonprofit connected with Trump’s planned presidential library; not described as a personal payment to Trump.
$1 million Legal fees to the law firm of Trump’s attorney Alejandro Brito.

What prompted Trump’s lawsuit

The dispute arose from a March 10, 2024, live interview on ABC’s This Week. George Stephanopoulos was interviewing Representative Nancy Mace about her support for Trump when he said Trump had been found liable for rape and for defaming the victim of that rape. Trump sued ABC and Stephanopoulos in federal court in Florida later that month. ABC’s original segment page preserves the exchange and the editor’s note subsequently added to it: ABC’s March 10, 2024 interview segment.

Why the wording about E. Jean Carroll was disputed

The interview referred to civil cases brought by E. Jean Carroll, not a criminal prosecution. In the first case, a jury found Trump liable for sexual abuse and defamation and awarded Carroll $5 million. In the later case, a jury found him liable on additional defamation claims and awarded her $83.3 million, according to the Associated Press. Those were separate awards to Carroll in cases distinct from Trump’s suit against ABC. Associated Press account of the Carroll cases

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There is a legal-language distinction behind the argument. The first jury did not find rape under the narrower technical definition in New York’s Penal Law. Judge Lewis Kaplan explained that the jury’s finding did not mean Carroll had failed to prove what many people commonly call rape; he said the jury found Trump had done exactly that. The statutory terminology and the judge’s explanation of common usage are related, but they are not the same finding. The cases did not result in a criminal conviction for rape.

ABC expressed regret, but did not admit liability in a trial

ABC posted an editor’s note on the original segment page: “ABC News and George Stephanopoulos regret statements regarding President Donald J. Trump made during an interview by George Stephanopoulos with Rep. Nancy Mace on ABC’s This Week on March 10, 2024.”

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That regret statement was part of the settlement terms; it is not a jury verdict. ABC spokesperson Jeannie Kedas said, “We are pleased that the parties have reached an agreement to dismiss the lawsuit on the terms in the court filing,” AP reported.

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How the settlement ended the case

The parties signed the agreement on December 13, 2024, the same day a Florida federal judge ordered Trump and Stephanopoulos to sit for separate depositions the following week. The settlement meant those scheduled sworn interviews no longer had to take place. The agreement resolved Trump’s claim against ABC without a trial, so it should not be reported as a finding by a court that ABC defamed him.

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