ABC News will pay Donald Trump $15 million to settle a defamation lawsuit the president-elect brought against the network and anchor George Stephanopoulos, in March.
The settlement, which was publicly filed in the Southern District of Florida Miami Division on Saturday, states that ABC will make a $15 million contribution to a “Presidential foundation and museum to be established by or for Plaintiff” and pay $1 million in Trump’s attorney fees.
As part of the agreement, the defendants were also instructed to issue a statement of “regret” in an editor’s note for a March 10 segment of Stephanopoulos’ “This Week” program, in which the anchor made false statements that Trump had been found civilly liable for the rape of writer E. Jean Carroll.
An ABC News spokesperson told The Washington Post, “We are pleased that the parties have reached an agreement to dismiss the lawsuit on the terms in the court filing.” A spokesperson and lawyers for Trump did not immediately respond to request for comment.
Trump sued Stephanopoulos and ABC for defamation on March 18 after the anchor claimed during an interview with Rep. Nancy Mace (R-South Carolina) that Trump had been found “liable for rape” — a misstatement of the verdicts in Carroll’s two lawsuits against him.
The settlement caps a highly litigious year for the president-elect, who faced criminal cases in Florida, Georgia and D.C. and was found guilty on 34 felony counts by a Manhattan jury in May for falsifying business records to conceal a hush money payment to an adult film actress.
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