A federal judge has ruled that the defamation lawsuit filed by President Donald Trump against ABC News and George Stephanopoulos can proceed. This decision follows a motion to dismiss the case, which stems from a March interview where Stephanopoulos inaccurately claimed Trump was “liable for rape” during a conversation with Rep. Nancy Mace (R-SC). In reality, the jury in E. Jean Carroll’s civil lawsuit found Trump liable for sexual assault, not rape.
U.S. District Judge Cecilia Altonaga, appointed by President George W. Bush, rejected ABC’s defense that relied on the “fair reporting privilege.” ABC had cited U.S. District Judge Lewis Kaplan’s earlier ruling that it was not defamatory for Carroll to describe Trump as guilty of rape. However, Altonaga emphasized that Stephanopoulos’s statements were about the jury’s legal findings, not public perception.
Judge Altonaga pointed out that New York law distinguishes between rape and sexual assault, and the public might not make this distinction. Therefore, a jury could reasonably conclude that Stephanopoulos’s repeated statements were defamatory. The lawsuit seeks unspecified damages for harm caused by these statements.
Trump praised the judge’s ruling on his social media platform, Truth Social, calling it a significant victory and expressing optimism that the media will be forced to report more accurately in the future. The lawsuit highlights ongoing disputes over media representation and legal accountability for public statements, particularly in politically charged contexts.
