EDITOR’S NOTE: Donald Trump’s decision to sue Geroge Stephanopoulos for defamation was not a good move at all. Not only because the laws of this country protect free speech (still…) to a degree that is almost impossible to overturn but also because it turns the attention away from issues that matter and make “Little George” larger than he is. When was the last time any of you watched what Stephanopoulos had to say about anything? We watch Tucker Carlson, we watch Elon Musk, we watch Steve Bannon. Who cares about Stephanopoulos?
Trump’s only legal avenue in this lawsuit is probably to prove that Stephanopoulos has “malice”… This seems on the outside like a possibility because Stephanopoulos has acted with unadulterated hatred every time he heard the name Trump at the same time as he started his career as a political hack on the sole purpose of protecting serial sexual harasser Bill Clinton against numerous women. Even so, the fact that a NY Judge used a restricted definition of “rape” to tie it to Trump in civil court (and not a criminal court) will easily exonerate Stephanopoulos against the enormous “public figure” of Trump. If you are a public figure, you are supposed to take in a lot of “flak”…
Trump should have let Stephanopoulos boil in his problematic political position, supporting a demented Biden. He should have brought Bill Clinton’s accusers back to attention and left the legal action for another time.
Below is a video that explains the legal problems in this case, followed by the news.
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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.
